What is Musculoskeletal Imaging?
Musculoskeletal radiology uses images of your bones, joints, and soft tissues to diagnose and treat common orthopedic problems:
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Joint pain
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Bone problems
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Sports injuries
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And more
How Does Musculoskeletal Imaging Work?
Our radiologists and sports medicine physicians take careful pictures of your tissues. Your tissues include your bones, joints, muscles, tendons, and more. Your provider uses these images to diagnose your condition. The images help your provider create an individualized treatment plan specific to your needs.
Is Musculoskeletal Radiology Safe?
We are committed to providing a safe environment for your testing. We’ve invested in advanced imaging equipment to provide the best possible images. Our technicians are experts at what they do. They will make you feel at ease during your test.
We carefully track the amount of radiation you are exposed to during an X-ray, fluoroscopy, or CT scan. We use the smallest amount of radiation needed take good images. Other tests, such as ultrasound and MRI, do not have any radiation.
We also practice MRI safety. We ensure that all metal objects are left outside of the MRI room. Your technician will make sure you. Know what to expect before your MRI.
For minimally invasive procedures like arthrography and biopsies, we train and practice extensively to make sure we provide precise, efficient, and successful procedures.
Find Musculoskeletal Radiology Near Me
Musculoskeletal Imaging Services
- Traditional radiography (X-ray) shows details in your bones.
- Fluoroscopy helps providers observe how your bones move. It can also guide where needles and treatment devices are placed.
- Computed tomography (CT) uses low-dose radiation to create detailed, 3D images.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) uses a powerful magnet and radio waves to create detailed images, especially of the soft tissue surrounding our bones and joints.
- Sonography (ultrasound) helps providers study how the soft tissue surrounding your bones and joints functions. Ultrasounds can also help radiologists directly observe how bones work as you move in real time.
- Arthrography (traditional, CT, and MR) use an injected contrast dye to evaluate small details in your joints, especially cartilage.
Musculoskeletal Imaging Benefits
Musculoskeletal radiology tests help your provider find the best treatment options for you. Custom treatment plans can help you recover from injuries more quickly.
MSK treatments can also reduce pain. Some treatments that reduce pain include image-guided therapeutic injections and aspirations. During an injection, your provider injects medication into, or near, your pain site. They may remove fluid to help relieve pain in certain areas (aspirations). Removing fluid can also help diagnose other problems.
Providers can use MSK tests to help guide biopsies. A biopsy is where a provider takes a small sample of tissue or fluid. MSK tests can also help your provider perform minimally invasive treatments. MSK tests can help you avoid other procedures or treatments:
- Hospitalization
- General anesthesia
- Surgery
Why U of U Health?
U of U Health has year-after-year exceptional rankings as offering the best health care in the nation. It's not a surprise. We believe collaboration throughout our system — from physicians, researchers, biologists, and more — leads to the most imaginative care.
Working together in a rich, diverse clinical environment means our discoveries have a direct impact on the health of our patients. U of U Health isn't satisfied with just offering health care. We want to transform it.