In this video, I want to talk about x rays and their job in diagnosing knee injury. X ray is also a very quick and rather cheap test that can be done and gives you valuable information about what what type of injury you're dealing with in the knees. Now, X ray does have a little bit of radiation, which is a disadvantage, but it doesn't hit the main part of the body. And it's also a very low amount, so it's not a very big deal. As far as side effects go. x rays are great for showing the bones of the body.
If there's some type of fracture, or you feel that they're safe, or if you fear that there's some type of fracture X ray is a great test to do to diagnose that problem. What's interesting about x ray is that it doesn't show cartilage at all. Now, if you're getting an X ray done, there will be a black space in the place where your cartilage is in your body. If that space is thinned out, or if there's no space at all, can be a very good sign, or a very effective sign rather that there's osteoarthritis or some type of damage to the cartilage. Now, this is only effectively shown if your x rays done while standing up. Your doctor might know to tell you to get a Stan X ray but the technician might not know.
So if you're sending for an X ray of the knees, make sure that you get it done while standing up and not laying down. Lastly, there are a little bit of more information that you can get out of looking at an X ray. But it really depends on how good the radiologist is that has a look at it. A lot of times orthopedic surgeons or orthopedic doctors in their clinics will look at the X rays itself, theirself and they'll determine how much of the cartilage is leftover or how much damage there is to the bones. There's a few other signs that can show our strength rightous but they won't send it to a radiologist or a specialist who can get that more information out. So that usually it goes a little to waste.
Alright, just to recap, you want to get an X ray down of your knees when you're standing up. It's great for showing the bones and it can show you if there's a fracture, and it's also a very good test for osteoarthritis or damage to the cartilage of the knee. In the next video, we're going to talk about MRI