It’s no surprise that the growing popularity of organized sports and exercises comes with an increased frequency of orthopedic injuries. While minor injuries or bruises can heal themselves with rest and icing, getting a severe and painful injury that decreases mobility requires professional medical care.
When you see your orthopedic doctor for your injury or musculoskeletal pain, they first diagnose your condition. Sometimes, your orthopedic doctor can diagnose your problem or injury by learning about your symptoms, what causes these symptoms, and by performing a physical examination. Other times, your doctor may request imaging tests, such as MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), to be performed to assess your condition.
The first question that can come into your mind after hearing the word MRI from your doctor is “what can an MRI tell my orthopedic surgeon about my injury?” Let’s delve deeper to know the answer to this question.
What Can An MRI Tell About An Injury?
Requesting an MRI means your orthopedic surgeon wants a more clear, crisp, and cross-sectional image of your internal body structures. An MRI machine uses a large magnetic coil, magnetic fields, radio waves, and a computer to produce detailed 3D images of the body. Unlike X-rays or other imaging technologies, an MRI can also scan your muscles, nerves, brain, and soft tissues.
By ordering an MRI, your orthopedic surgeon can reduce the need for exploratory surgery. An MRI can tell your orthopedic surgeon about the injuries or disorders affecting your muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones, cartilages, and spine. It is also ordered for fast and better diagnosis of fractures and bone conditions. MRI will help your orthopedic surgeon look at the spinal cord and identify the blood clots, herniated disc, or masses that compress your spine.
The following are a few conditions that your orthopedic surgeon can detect in an MRI scan:
- Injury to cartilage, bone, or meniscus
- Tears or stretch to ligament or ligament disruption
- Muscle strains or tear
- Progression of arthritis and other degenerative conditions
- Herniated disc
- Spinal stenosis
- Structural abnormalities in the musculoskeletal system
- Fluid accumulation in knee or Baker’s cyst
- Inflammation
- Tumor in the musculoskeletal system
Uses of MRI aren’t limited to diagnosis only. An MRI can be used to track the progression of a disease and the effectiveness of treatment. This means if you’re undergoing treatment, your orthopedic surgeon can also monitor your healing progress and make adjustments if something goes wrong during treatment.
MRI By Orthopedic Surgeon in Naples, Fl
If you or your loved one have any type of orthopedic condition, you’ll likely need diagnostic imaging such as MRI at some point. While in other orthopedic offices, your orthopedic surgeon has to send you some other clinic or laboratory for MRI, at Joint Replacement Institute, you can have a full-body MRI on our premises.
Choose the orthopedic surgeons who offer convenient on-site imaging at the Joint Replacement Institute in Naples, Florida. Call us at (239) 261-2663 to find out more and streamline your medical care. You can also request an appointment now. We look forward to helping you!
