Have you been involved in an accident in Columbus that resulted in internal injuries? Are you an accident victim suffering from aching joints and/or limbs? Do you have bruising on your skin, or do you suspect you have broken bones? Well, you should visit our Columbus X-ray center for testing of your injuries.
The complexity of accident injuries requires a proper diagnosis. Digital X-raying is one of the fastest, easiest, and most effective tests to identify and diagnose your injury. At Georgia Spine & Orthopaedics, we offer digital X-raying services to help accident victims understand the nature and extent of their injuries. Highly experienced radiographers with years of experience working with accident victims handle our diagnostic and medical imaging services.
Book your appointment online or call us on 678-929-4494.
What Are X-rays?
An X-ray is a simple, quick, and painless test designed to produce a 2-dimensional image of the internal structures of the body, particularly your bones, chest, abdomen, and spine. As the oldest imaging technology, it is also the cheapest and safest way to view the state and structure under your skin. As such, it is the go-to imaging technology for assessing joint injuries, fractures, and other musculoskeletal abnormalities after a vehicle accident.
X-ray imaging uses an invisible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, the X-rays, to create an image of the bones, tissues, and other organs. The X-ray beam is beamed onto the body part, which requires a diagnosis. The X-rays pass through the body onto a specially treated plate or digital media to produce a “negative” image of the internal body structure. As the X-rays pass through different organs, they’re absorbed differently, affecting how much X-rays are detected by the image detection plate.
Metal and contrast media (a dye used to highlight specific parts of the body during imaging) are the densest materials and will block the X-ray particles completely. As such, they will appear white on the X-ray film or digital image. On the other end, structures that contain air, such as the lungs, will allow the vast majority of the X-ray particles to pass through and, therefore, appear black.
In between the white and back color spectrums of an X-ray are the different parts with different densities. Fat, fluids, muscles, the skin, and other organs will appear in different shades of dark gray, depending on their density. For instance, a bone will appear lighter on an X-ray as it is denser than soft tissues and blocks a lot of the X-rays.
When imaging to diagnose fractures, the broken part will allow an X-ray beam to pass through, resulting in dark fracture lines in a white bone.
X-rays are performed under specific conditions to ensure X-ray imaging yields a high-quality image that’s usable in helping orthopedists diagnose fractured bones after an accident. The patient is required to stay still during the X-ray. Motion can yield blurry images with unclear feature definitions.
Children who might not willingly stay still during the X-ray might be restrained for the few minutes the X-ray will take. The restraints are safe and will not harm the child. Importantly, it ensures we avoid repeating the X-ray, which might be necessary if the X-ray image is blurry.
You should remove any metal components from your body, including jewelry. With this in mind, you should notify a medical imaging technologist if you have an IUD inserted. You might be asked to hold your breath, especially when being X-rayed on your chest. Finally, you might be required to put on a hospital gown.
What about the safety of X-rays? X-rays are generally safe. Additionally, radiographers are trained to take the necessary precautionary measures to keep patients safe per Georgia State X-ray radiation regulations. Some people worry about the long-term hazards that X-rays might cause. Generally, the imaging process exposes patients to low doses of X-rays. We use modern digital X-rays, which produce about 80% less radiation compared to traditional X-ray equipment. Moreover, the older you are, the less sensitive you’ll be to the X-rays.
That said, it is essential to notify your doctor if you’re pregnant or suspect you’re pregnant. While diagnostic X-raying is generally safe, there is still a risk to the unborn child. In most cases, the radiographer will use a different type of diagnostic test, such as an ultrasound. If the X-ray is absolutely necessary for diagnosing your injuries, it will shield your abdomen to protect the unborn child from radiation.
What Can Digital X-rays Tell Us?
As with traditional X-rays, digital X-rays are valuable for diagnosing health issues without performing invasive tests. Digital X-rays, also known as digital radiography, are an advanced form of X-raying that produces digital X-ray images on a computer screen without having to develop an intermediate X-ray film first. The equipment uses digital detector arrays (DDAs) to convert the X-rays that pass through the body into a high-quality digital image.
In the case of accidents, digital X-rays are effective in diagnosing injuries such as:
- Bone Conditions and Fractures: X-rays are used to diagnose fractures and joint injuries, which are typical for accident victims. Additionally, the equipment is used to monitor the progression of treatment without resulting in invasive testing.
- Chest Injuries: It’s common for accident victims to suffer chest injuries such as broken ribs, shoulder blade dislocations and many other issues. Digital X-raying can help identify issues affecting the chest after an accident, helping our specialists diagnose the source of the problem and identify a possible solution as quickly as possible.
- Dental Issues: X-rays are used to diagnose dental issues that arise from accidents. For instance, they are effective in helping dentists diagnose a broken jaw resulting from an accident. Additionally, digital X-raying is used to identify dental issues such as cavities, gum diseases, and issues affecting the roots of gums.
- Spinal Injuries: X-rays are an excellent diagnostic tool to identify spinal injuries arising from accidents. Digital X-raying helps orthopedists diagnose spine fractures, herniated disks and other injuries that affect the spinal cord.
As you can appreciate digital X-raying is particularly useful in diagnosing injuries and the source of pain among accident victims. However, this imaging technology is useful beyond diagnosing accident injuries. It is also used to identify infections (such as pneumonia and tuberculosis), digestive system issues (such as inflammation, ulcers, and gastrointestinal obstructions), and soft tissue conditions (such as tumors).
Why Is Getting an X-ray Important After an Accident?
Accidents, whether car accidents, falls, or other personal injury accidents, typically result in significant internal injuries such as musculoskeletal injuries. These are the sorts of injuries that affect your muscles and bones, which cannot be appropriately diagnosed by simply looking at someone.
Digital X-raying of the suspected injured parts allows the team experts to accurately access, diagnose, and document how the injuries were sustained and the effects of the injury on your overall well-being. For instance, X-raying a fracture will reveal details on whether it is a simple or compound fracture.
In the same vein, X-rays help reveal hidden injuries that may not be apparent without proper imaging. Not all fractures and dislocations are immediately palpable or visible.
Important, the accurate diagnosis of your injuries allows health experts to craft a personalized treatment plan that will help you recover from the injuries arising from the accident quickly. In turn, quick diagnosis and treatment ensure that patients do not suffer from delayed complications, which can have dire consequences on their health.
Finally, X-rays provide supporting documents when you make an insurance claim. X-ray imagery showing fractures and/or dislocations is irrefutable proof that you were injured during an accident.
As such, it’s essential to have any suspected bone fracture X-rayed to understand the true extent of the injury. The benefits of an X-ray far outweigh any risk of using the small dose of ionizing radiation that a digital X-ray produces.
Accidents that Might Require X-rays for Treatment
It is crucial you seek medical attention after an accident. Do not take your injuries lightly and assume you’re okay because you are not in pain. Some injuries, though critical, are not immediately apparent. When visiting a medical center specializing in emergencies and injuries resulting from accidents, the health experts will be best placed to determine whether or not you need an X-ray.
That said, diagnosing the injuries resulting from the following accidents requires patients to get X-rayed:
- Car accidents,
- Pedestrian accidents,
- Accidents causing broken bones and joint dislocations (such as slips and falls),
- Accidents requiring foreign object retrieval,
- Accidents requiring guided surgery, etc.
It’s important to note that X-rays are only performed on a need-to basis.
Let Us Quickly Diagnose Your Injuries and Start Treatment
Our expert radiographers and orthopedists are always at hand to diagnose patients’ injuries and develop personalized treatment plans to help you recover your injuries. At Georgia Spine & Orthopaedics, our radiographers are trained to prioritize rendering the best patient care possible. To this end, we focus on providing highly accurate results that immediately and reliably help our team of orthopedists identify the underlying issues.
Moreover, you can rest assured our organization will treat you with compassion and care as we work to help you recover from your accident.
Georgia Spine & Orthopaedics: Effective Columbus X-ray Services
While X-raying is a centuries-old medical imaging and testing technique, it is still valuable today. We use the latest version of the technology – digital X-raying to protect our patients from excessive exposure to radiation while getting accurate medical images for effective injury diagnosis. Come experience our class-leading Columbus X-ray imaging services and accident injury treatment at Georgia Spine & Orthopaedics
Call us on 678-929-4494 to book your appointment.
