For example, a scaphoid fracture (of the wrist) will not always show up immediately after injury on X-Ray, & it may not actually show up at all. The result of an X-Ray may also be dependent on when it is performed, as some fractures cannot be seen for a couple of weeks after the injury. It won’t show any disc injury, which is by far the most common cause of back pain, & again, treatable with physiotherapy. Having an X-Ray to help diagnose your back pain will only help to confirm that the pain is not related to a fracture of your vertebrae. It does not rule out an anterior cruciate ligament rupture, patellofemoral pain syndrome or iliotibial band syndrome, all of which can be treated with physiotherapy. If there is no damage to the bones, the X-Ray report will often state “no abnormality detected”, or NAD But this does not necessarily mean you do not have a treatable injury!įor example, a clear X-Ray on a painful knee only rules out bony injury/degeneration as the cause of pain. An X-Ray will not show up any damage to ligaments, tendons, muscles, nerves or discs. Whilst X-Rays are very good at showing up bone, they provide very little information about the surrounding soft tissues. They are the fastest, cheapest and most accessible imaging tool available, & can be useful in checking for fractures, osteoarthritis & severe osteoporosis, & for advanced forms of cancer. X-Rays are commonly used to assist in the diagnosis of musculoskeletal pain.
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