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X-rays are useful in showing the alignment of
the spine and in showing any slippage like subluxation or
spondylolisthesis. An X-ray examination makes use of electromagnetic
radiations to take images of your bones and internal organs. It helps
your doctor in diagnosing the cause of your disease as it is a painless
medical test. It helps in determining whether your bone is dislocated or
broken. Evaluating bone injuries and joint infections and diagnosing the
progression of degenerative conditions like osteoporosis and arthritis
can be done with the help of X-rays.
There are two types of X-rays for the spine. These are:
Discography: X-ray of the disc is called as discography. It
needs injections in to the discs which are being suspected to be the
source of pain and the discs near it. It is generally a painful test
and is recommended for the patients undergoing the back surgery to
identify the location of the injured disc.
X-ray Myelogram: X-ray of the spine is called X-ray myelogram.
It needs spinal injection of a special dye and requires to lie still
for several hours to avoid a painful headache. It is useful only for
patients who experience pain while moving and standing. This process
has been replaced by MRI and CT scan. With the dye in spinal canal,
X-rays are able to show the pathology of nerve root compression.
X-rays are helpful in revealing signs of infection, injury, stenosis,
tumor or changes in the vertebrae causing inflammation and compression
on the nerve. X- rays are effective and safe for people of all ages as
the amount of radiation you are exposed to, during an X-ray is so small
that the risk of damaging the cell is too low. An X-ray procedure may
take few minutes for a bone X-ray or more than an hour in other serious
complications. X-rays help in showing information related to bones and
joints but fail to directly show the problems with your spinal cord,
fibrous tissues, muscles, nerves or discs.
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