Are Spinal X-Rays Safe?

I want to address the safety issue to start.  Let me be clear, if x-rays are necessary to determine the underlying cause of your problem, rest assured they are very safe.  In fact, an x-ray of your neck has approximately the same radiation exposure as a return trans-Atlantic flight (pilots fly on average of 75-100 hours/month with no ill-effects).  When the benefits outweigh the risk, x-rays provide a tremendous amount of information that can help you get well, especially for those problems that seem to come and go or never really go away.

Why X-Rays?

An x-ray allows us to see your spine in black, white, and grey.  Arthritis, osteoporosis, scoliosis, instability, subluxation and other types of damage are easily seen when looking at an x-ray.  An x-ray gives us a very detailed view of your problem areas so they can be accurately addressed.  Taking out the guesswork provides us with a precise “picture” of your spine so we can tailor your treatments specifically for you.

Objective Testing

Let’s say you wanted to lower your cholesterol levels by changing your diet.  You would need blood work (objective test) to first get your initial cholesterol levels.  Then you would change your eating habits for a period of time (intervention).  Finally, you would then redo your blood work to determine how successful your efforts were.  No guessing.  You would see in black and white (on paper) whether you moved your health in the direction you wanted.

Regaining your health is a dynamic process and sometimes requires shifting direction slightly to make sure you continue moving towards your goal.  This can only be done when accurate objective testing is used (like x-ray) not only for your starting point, but also to monitor your improvement.  Your health is worth it, in fact it depends on accurate diagnostics.

Never guessing, always improving,