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Tests and diagnosis
By Mayo Clinic staffThe diagnostic process begins with your doctor taking your medical history and with a complete physical examination. Your doctor will ask whether you're having symptoms such as head and neck pain, and will ask you to describe them. He or she will also check your fine motor skills and swallowing ability.
If you have symptoms such as head pain, and the exact cause isn't apparent to your doctor, you'll likely undergo a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of your skull, which is the definitive diagnostic tool for Chiari malformation.
Using magnetic fields and radio waves, this test produces 3-D, high-resolution images of structural abnormalities that may be contributing to your symptoms. It can also provide pictures of the cerebellum and determine whether it extends into the spinal canal. A dye or contrast medium can be injected, and once it travels to your brain, it can enhance the MRI images. An MRI is a safe and painless test. Over time, repeat MRIs can be used to monitor the progression of this disorder.
Your doctor may use other imaging techniques as well. For example, your doctor may recommend a computerized tomography (CT) scan, which uses X-rays in conjunction with a computer to produce precise, sectional images of the bone tissue that surrounds the spinal column.
- NINDS Chiari malformation information page. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/chiari/chiari.htm. Accessed July 14, 2008.
- Chiari malformation. American Association of Neurological Surgeons. http://www.neurosurgerytoday.org/what/patient_e/chiari1.asp. Accessed July 14, 2008.
- What is the Chiari malformation? American Syringomyelia Alliance Project. http://www.asap.org/chiari-malformation.html. Accessed July 14, 2008.
- Ropper AH, et al. Chiari malformation. In: Ropper AH, et al. Adams and Victor's Principles of Neurology. 8th ed. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2005:28-32.
