MRI Can Show Injuries Missed on an X-Ray
Suppose you head out on a Saturday morning to drive to the local grocery store, but another vehicle crashes into you. Or say you’re in the store and you slip and fall on something wet on the floor. In either incident, you feel something is wrong.
Perhaps an arm hurts, or your neck and back don’t feel right. You head off to a nearby clinic to see what’s going on. They take an X-Ray of your arm or back, depending on where you feel something is wrong, and they tell you they couldn’t find anything. You look fine in their eyes.
However, as the days go by, you still feel something is wrong. Your arm or back still hurts, or they feel out of whack from how they felt before your accident. You make an appointment with your personal physician, who orders an MRI. The MRI shows a fracture or tissue damage.
In another scenario, you don’t feel anything after your accident, but as the days progress, you sense pain in your arm or back. You connect the dots and decide to have a check-up. Again, the X-Ray is negative. Eventually, you get an MRI, and the problem is pinpointed.
The bottom line on these exams is that an MRI is simply a more powerful and detailed diagnostic tool than an X-Ray. Sometimes if only an X-Ray is used because it’s handy and quick, you can end up with a misdiagnosis because the image lacks the clarity that an MRI would provide.
If you’ve been injured in an accident in or around Lone Tree or Trinidad, Colorado, contact Landry Law, P.C. You may have a claim against the at-fault party, whether a driver or a store owner depending on how the injury occurred. Our personal injury attorney will take your claim to the responsible insurance company to negotiate for the best possible compensation and if need be, file a personal injury lawsuit.
Landry Law, P.C. proudly represents clients in Denver, Castle Pines, Castle Rock, and throughout Douglas County, Colorado.
The Danger of Not Catching a Serious Injury
If the radiological results from an X-Ray don’t reveal problems and you go about your life thinking everything is fine, your long-term prospects can be troubling. If a fracture, cartilage loss, joint inflammation, nerve compression, spinal injury, torn or detached ligaments, muscles or cartilage go undetected, your mobility and quality of life could suffer for a long time. Meanwhile, you might be scratching your head, wondering what’s wrong since you received a “clean” X-Ray diagnosis.
Understanding an X-Ray
X-Rays are relatively quick and easy to perform. Even professional sports facilities generally have X-Ray machines and trained professionals to operate the machines in case an athlete is injured while playing. An X-Ray, also called a radiograph, sends radiation through the body. Bones and teeth block the radiation and show up as white. Soft tissue areas allow the radiation through and show up as black.
X-Rays are efficient for fractures, dislocations, misalignments, and narrowed joint spaces. Minor fractures and bone injuries, however, don’t always show up. Nor do soft tissue injuries or inflammation.
When an MRI Is Necessary
An MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, does not rely on radiation but uses a powerful magnet to pass radio waves through the body. The process enables the production of highly detailed images of the body’s structure, including soft tissues, nerves, and even blood vessels. Depending on the MRI scanner, the process can take up to 10 minutes or more while you are strapped on a platform, motionless.
An MRI scan may be necessary if an X-Ray image fails to show any internal damage, but the patient still experiences pain or the sensation that something is not right. If you continue to feel pain or a loss of sensation after an X-Ray turned up with negative results, you should speak with your physician about an MRI.
Protect Your Health and Your Future
If you have been injured in an accident, you should pursue all avenues of diagnosis if the pain doesn’t go away or suddenly appears or reappears days or even weeks after your accident. You need to ensure you’re getting a complete diagnosis, which may involve an MRI scan.
While you go through the diagnosis and recovery process, rely on us at Landry Law, P.C. to handle your claim against the at-fault party. You can and should be compensated for your medical expenses, lost wages or earning power, and pain and suffering. Contact us immediately if you or a loved one has been injured in an accident.