An X-ray is a quick, noninvasive, and painless medical procedure that uses electromagnetic waves to create pictures of the inside of your body. It shows varying degrees of black and white shades, depending on the different tissues that absorb the various amounts of radiation.
It is commonly used to diagnose fractured bones and joint dislocation. This medical examination tool doesn’t require any special preparation and delivers immediate results, which makes the X-ray a favored imaging technology for doctors who suspect a bone anomaly in a patient.
What Injuries Are X-rays Used For?
An X-ray is an effective way for your doctor to diagnose and address various forms of injury, especially the following:
- X-ray can help a doctor quickly and accurately diagnose broken bones and dislocated joints. Whether it is a thin crack or a compound break, this diagnostic tool can pinpoint the specific location and type of the fracture. Of course, it can also reveal that a suspected broken bone isn’t broken at all, which would lead the doctor to conduct other types of tests or scans in order to determine the problem or injury that the patient is experiencing.
- Following the treatment of a fracture, an X-ray can also help doctors to assess whether the bone fragments are properly aligned and stabilized.
- X-ray technology is used to guide an orthopedic surgeon while performing various types of surgery, such as spinal fusion, joint replacement, and fracture treatments.
- An X-ray can reveal infection, injury, arthritis, and abnormal bone growths and spurs. It can also show whether there’s fluid that has accumulated around a joint or loose pieces of a fractured bone.
- An X-ray can display foreign objects inside the body, such as items in the stomach that were swallowed, shrapnel, or surgical items that were accidentally left inside the patient during an operation.
Your doctor may recommend that you undergo an X-ray so they can rule out various causes of pain. If the X-ray is negative, the physician will likely recommend that you have other types of scans or tests in order to further explore your condition for proper diagnosis and proper treatment.
Risks of X-ray Technology
Although X-rays have numerous benefits, the ionizing radiation causes the greatest concern among patients. You should not have lots of X-rays during your lifetime; your doctor and your radiologist can give you good advice about how much radiation exposure is okay for your body. Healthcare providers themselves must be careful not to be exposed to too much radiation, or they could increase their chances of developing cancer.
The radiation is one reason why doctors opt for MRI technology or ultrasound for certain types of imaging. There is no radiation emitted from an MRI or ultrasound machine. This is also why ultrasound is used during pregnancy, because it will not harm the baby inside the womb.
Imaging Specialists in Palm Beach County
Our team of experienced radiologists here at Independent Imaging offers advanced and sophisticated imaging technology for physicians’ evaluation of their patients’ various health issues. We have imaging centers conveniently located across Palm Beach County in Wellington, Belle Glade, Lake Worth, and Royal Palm Beach.
If you have any questions or would like to schedule an imaging procedure with us, contact our friendly team today by calling us at (561) 795-5558 or fill out our easy-to-use online appointment request form now. Let us be your go-to imaging center for maintaining a healthy body and providing your physicians with imaging results you can trust.
