After undergoing myelography with iopamidol by either direct puncture (n = 120) or lumbar puncture and run up of the contrast medium (n = 232), the patients were randomly allocated into one of two groups, one group being confined to bed for 24h and the other allowed to be fully ambulant. Questionnaires recording the occurrence and severity of side effects were completed at specific intervals after the myelogram. Adverse reactions experienced were significantly fewer than in our previous direct puncture study using metrizamide. Neither in the direct puncture nor in the run up group were side effects adversely affected by allowing the patients to remain ambulant after the examination. There is, therefore, no necessity to confine patients to bed following cervical myelography.