What can a chiropractor see on x-rays?

The x-rays that your chiropractor takes or has taken, will show your bones and joints along with the related soft tissues such as muscle or fat. However, the detail of muscle is not good on x-rays as compared to your bones and joints. If the chiropractor takes your x-ray in a standing or weight-bearing position, the various normal and abnormal curves of the spine can be seen as well as the severity of changes in joints.

The chiropractor can evaluate the general health of your bones; determine whether or not you have any congenital anomalies (unusual shapes to your bones from birth), fractures, dislocations, and arthritic conditions, infections of the bones, or joints and tumours which would significantly alter the plan of treatment.

Do all chiropractic patients receive x-rays?

Years ago most chiropractic patients underwent an x-ray examination. With new research and better education, chiropractors now use x-rays less often. The decision as to whether or not your chiropractor takes x-rays will depend on the case information that he or she obtains from you as well as the information that is found during the physical examination. Certainly chiropractors will usually take x-rays in cases of serious trauma to assess for fracture. Patients with a history of cancer will also often have x-rays taken. These are only two examples demonstrating the clinical thinking which underlies your chiropractor’s decision as to whether or not you need to have x-rays taken.

It is more common to take x-rays of older patients as the likelihood of finding a chiropractically relevant problem is greater. Older people are much more likely to have “brittle bone disease” for example, which would change the type of treatment given by the chiropractor.