Chiropractors committed to providing the best chiropractic care for their patients utilize all the tools at their disposal, including X-rays. X-rays are an important diagnostic tool, enabling chiropractors to understand their patients’ musculoskeletal systems, particularly their spine.
What are X-rays Used for in Chiropractic Practice?
Simply put, X-rays allow the doctor to see inside the body and assess the spine and other musculoskeletal structures. While a chiropractor can learn much simply by visually and physically examining the patient’s body, there is no replacement for X-ray scans.
The critical scans produced by X-ray imaging help chiropractors assess a patient’s structural integrity, which can quickly lead to accurate diagnoses of trouble areas. The scans can also identify potential problems like fractures or spinal deformities, including congenital conditions like scoliosis. When done over time with the patient, X-rays can guide treatment planning and put patients on a pathway to pain-free living.
Also, X-rays can be invaluable in treating chronic pain, sports injuries, pain caused by illnesses or chronic disease, or when there’s suspicion of structural abnormalities. X-rays are essential in assisting the doctor to determine which issue the patient is struggling with. X-rays can even identify multiple chiropractic issues occurring in the same patient.
Eight Reasons Why X-Rays are Important
Just as a medical doctor tests a patient’s blood to determine the patient’s health condition and the presence of illness, a chiropractor examines X-rays to determine the health of the patient’s spine. While examining X-rays, the best chiropractors are also looking for fractures, dislocations, subluxations (a misalignment of the intricate spinal bones called vertebrae), arthritis, infections, and tumors.
The following are a few additional reasons why chiropractic doctors may take X-ray scans:
- Assessing pain symptoms. Most patients seek chiropractic care to address pain. X-rays help diagnose pain symptoms and point the chiropractor toward what’s causing pain and how to alleviate it.
- Checking for congenital conditions. Patients seeking chiropractic care may be struggling with a variety of spinal conditions they’ve had since birth, including scoliosis, spinal bifida, kyphosis, lordosis, or spinal stenosis. By visual and tactile assessment alone, a chiropractor may be able to determine if one of these conditions is present, but an X-ray will provide the proof needed to inform an effective treatment plan.
- Determining damage caused by aging. Some pain symptoms, particularly those experienced by the elderly, can be difficult to track down. A patient may struggle with pain but have no injuries or congenital issues and a moderately healthy and active lifestyle. However, just the aging process alone can lead to back pain, and X-rays will be essential in determining what’s causing the pain and how to treat it.
- Identifying problems when multiple factors are present. Conversely, young people heavily involved in sports or physical activity may report many symptoms (some of which may overlap), making it difficult to diagnose the causes. X-rays are essential in tracing each symptom down to its root cause.
- Monitoring progress in treatment: While reported pain symptoms (or the lack thereof) and other factors like patients sleeping better, having greater mobility, more energy, fewer headaches, etc., do tell a chiropractor a lot about treatment progress, X-rays provide essential information on a patient’s healing process.
- Educating the patient: As in any medical field, an informed, educated patient is essential in making progress, because progress depends on the patient’s buy-in and dedication to the program. Success in chiropractic care is greatly aided by a patient who changes their lifestyle as needed, who rests, exercises, and makes life changes to better assist their spine in healing, strengthening, and remaining in alignment. X-rays help inform the patient on what works, what doesn’t work, what to keep doing in their day-to-day life, and what to stop doing.
- Determining correct (and safe) adjustments: The best chiropractors have an entire toolbox of treatments they can put to good use for their patients. However, not all adjustment styles and approaches will be effective for everyone. For example, a chiropractor wouldn’t necessarily use the same adjustment on a 90-year-old struggling with osteoarthritis that they would use on a 30-year-old NFL player struggling with a sports injury. X-rays are essential in determining each patient’s correct and safe adjustment protocol.
- Assessing whether chiropractic care is appropriate: Sometimes, a patient will come to a chiropractor seeking pain relief when they are actually struggling with a serious injury requiring surgery or some other medical intervention. Chiropractic X-ray can quickly and accurately diagnose the source of the patient’s pain symptoms, allowing the chiropractor to refer the patient to a surgeon or other medical specialist for a more appropriate treatment approach.
When are X-rays not Necessary?
Most chiropractors will use X-rays as a diagnostic tool during an initial patient consultation. However, X-rays are not generally necessary for routine chiropractic care, especially for simple back pain issues and common adjustments. For example, Spine Health states, “They [X-rays] are primarily used to assess structural abnormalities, rule out serious conditions, or monitor the progression of scoliosis. X-rays are ineffective in identifying soft tissue problems and are often not needed for initial assessment or for ongoing treatment of back pain.”[1]
Are Chiropractic X-Rays Safe?
According to the National Institutes of Health, chiropractic X-rays are safe but should not be done with too much frequency. X-rays provide an essential diagnostic function, but their repeated use in short succession is unnecessary. In the research paper Current evidence for spinal X-ray use in the chiropractic profession: a narrative review, authors Jenkins, Downie, Moorse, and French wrote that, “The use of spinal X-rays should not be routinely performed in chiropractic practice, and should be guided by clinical guidelines and clinician judgement.”[2]
The keyword in the findings is “routinely.” It’s common practice for a chiropractor to utilize X-ray scans to diagnose patients in the early stage of treatment and again to ascertain progress in the final stages of treatment. X-rays are especially helpful for patients with complex spinal complications, serious injuries, or congenital afflictions. But X-rays should not be used excessively.
Getting Help from the Best Chiropractors in Middle Tennessee
Cool Springs Chiropractic utilizes modern X-ray scans in the exact frequency needed to maximize patient results while creating a safe, effective treatment environment for the patient. A commitment to the highest quality of patient care guides X-ray imaging at Franklin’s best chiropractic office.
Further, Cool Springs Chiropractic utilizes advanced digital X-ray technology that allows the facility to reduce its carbon footprint while caring for patients. If patients have had recent X-rays taken in the last six months, the office may be able to utilize those X-rays and not require the patient to have new X-rays taken.
Quoting Dr. Peter Hinz, Franklin’s award-winning chiropractor:
- “At Cool Springs Chiropractic, our expert team provides tailored chiropractic care to address your unique health needs. Whether you’re looking to relieve pain, improve mobility, or enhance your overall wellness, we’re here to help you achieve your goals through a patient-centered approach that accurately diagnoses conditions through the use of X-rays and then treats the underlying problems causing those symptoms. The result? Our patients leave our office feeling pain-free, healthier, happier, and more mobile.”
Schedule an appointment by calling (615) 503-9900 or use our online system to access a limited-time $49 New Patient Special. Our office is located at 3252 Aspen Grove Drive, Suite 13, in Franklin, Tennessee—email info@coolspringschiropractic.com for information or to ask a question.
Sources:
[1] SH. “Chiropractic Health Care and X-Rays.” Spine-Health, 2020. spine-health.com
[2] NIH. “Current evidence for spinal X-ray use in the chiropractic profession: a narrative review.” National Institutes of Health, 2018. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
