Imagine if you could determine everything that was causing your body aches in one fell swoop. It's possible with Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging, or a thermography scan.

It can help determine where your pain is coming from and the best way to treat it.

Years of heavy lifting are starting to take their toll on Theresa Peterson's lower back. She's suffered from some injuries, pulled muscles, and just plain old wear and tear.

"I think it's been injury upon injury over time, and now I have lower back problems," Peterson says.

So to determine just how bad the damage was, Theresa had a full body thermography scan at the Midwest Acupuncture and Pain Treatment Center in Wausau. It's one of only three or four thermography units in the entire state.

An infrared camera takes about 20 different shots of the body from head to toe, and they immediately show up on a computer screen. The images are analyzed by a licensed thermologist, who will then recommend treatments.

Dr. Jennifer Blahnik says a thermography scan can tell you a lot more about your pain sources than just a regular x-ray or MRI scan.

"The problem is with an x-ray or MRI, you'll see structural changes and damage, but you're not certain that's where the pain is coming from. This will actually show where the person's pain is coming from," says Dr. Blahnik.

A scan can detect anything from back pain to blocked arteries, even cancer.

The white areas show the most inflammation. Red is the next highest. Dark blue or black areas may mean a pinched nerve.

In Theresa's case, you see a lot of white around her lower back, meaning she has degenerative joint and disc disease. The scan also picked up some thyroid issues and initial plaque buildup in her arteries.

Dr. Blahnik says finding those pain sources in a body scan can help patients avoid misdiagnoses and unnecessary treatments.

"You can bypass some of that. It's a very economical way to pinpoint where to look even where you need to look for MRIs, you can pinpoint," she says.

Theresa is now using a combination of acupuncture, massage and supplements to treat her back aches. She says it's helped her avoid painful surgery and has given her peace of mind.

"I think getting the full body scan gives you the complete answer. You know about every part of your body," she says.

A thermography scan costs about $350 and is covered under some insurance plans. Dr. Blahnik says she's seeing more people not only use it to find their pain sources, but also as a checkup tool to monitor their health from year to year.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: REACTION TO OUR STORY FROM A THERMOGRAPHY EXPERT FOLLOWS]

Our "How to Stay Young" report on medical thermography last Thursday generated a strong reaction and disagreement from a California doctor of chiropractic who is associated with the International Academy of Clinical Thermology.

Dr. William Cockburn worries that the public may be misled into thinking that thermography is better than an MRI at looking inside the body, when, in fact, it has its limitations. Dr. Cockburn says thermal imaging has a very limited role in detecting blocked arteries, for example, which was mentioned as a benefit in our report. He also says our statement that the scan detected thyroid issues is untrue. According to Dr. Cockburn, a thermal scan cannot see thyroid tissue.

The purpose of our special reports is to give you information that may be useful in guiding you to important decisions in your life. Particularly in medical decisions, a second opinion is often valuable.