Lumbar disc disease
In symptomatic cases the diagnosis should be confirmed by an MRI scan. However, in cases with slight symptoms, a faster and cheaper CT scan (although it is inferior to MRI scan) may be recommended. While a CT scan can show the bony structures in more detail, an MRI scan can better portray soft tissue.
Physics of magnetic resonance imaging
Typically, in soft tissues "T" is around one second while "T" and "T" are a few tens of milliseconds. However, these values can vary widely between different tissues, as well as between different external magnetic fields. This behavior is one factor giving MRI its tremendous soft tissue contrast.