Chiropractic care has long been recognized for its non-invasive approach to alleviating pain and promoting wellness. But behind the skilled hands of a chiropractor lies a suite of specialized tools and equipment, each designed to optimize patient care.
Medical Imaging Resources
Navigating chiropractic care often leads to questions about its processes and the tools chiropractors employ. One common query is the role and necessity of X-rays. Are they essential for all patients, or are they reserved for specific cases?
X-rays are typically used as diagnostic imaging tools in chiropractic care to assess the spinal health of a patient. X-rays can reveal various aspects of your spinal alignment, structure, and potential abnormalities.
Although the traditional x-ray has been around since 1895, digital x-rays weren’t introduced until the mid-1980s. Since then, the industry has become a multi-billion dollar market that is growing at exponential rates.
Whether you are looking to upgrade your existing x-ray system or purchase a complete digital x-ray room, there are a lot of things that you will want to consider in order to make the right decision on what digital x-ray system is best for your chiropractic practice. It can be overwhelming, especially since x-ray is such an important part of a Chiropractic office and also a significant investment.
For more in-depth information, download our comprehensive Chiropractic Buyer's Guide that explores in detail the different types of digital x-ray systems for Chiropractors. Or feel free to contact our helpful experts at Maven Imaging with any questions you may have.
In this post we’ll cover:
This article will cover how to install a 14 x 17 DR panel into a Chiropractic X-ray room.
It's crucial for chiropractors to utilize the suite of tools available to them to provide their patients with the best treatment. Chiropractors are trained in radiology and radiography as part of their education and radiographic imaging (x-ray) is an essential part of diagnosis and treatment of spine and postural issues. X-ray can be used by chiropractors either in a chiropractic office or through referral and helps eliminate guesswork by allowing chiropractors to understand the true alignment of the spine and plan treatment accordingly.
Benefits of x-ray for chiropractors
A range of different pains, functional impairments and muscle weaknesses can be alleviated with chiropractic realignment of the spine. These impairments may be due to stresses and strains on the various components of the spine including bones, muscles, ligaments, and discs.
Contemporary chiropractic approaches to spinal rehabilitation that use x-ray imaging have demonstrated superiority over other treatments. Alternate diagnostic methods are often indirect and don’t reveal the true source of the patient’s pain or discomfort. This could result in misdiagnosis, inappropriate treatment and a detrimental outcome for the patient.
Radiography reveals the true condition of the spine and has the ability to show chiropractors exactly what is happening inside the body in terms of skeletal structure and alignment. This remarkable imaging technique provides guidance to the chiropractor for how to manually manipulate the skeletal components. Not only does x-ray provide detailed images of the skeletal system, it can also show the presence of scar tissue or arthritis. Both of these conditions require consideration when developing a treatment plan.
Chiropractic uses of x-ray
Chiropractors can use x-ray for a range of purposes including:
The rapid advancement of digital technology has impacted all of our lives in some way, and it’s no different in a chiropractic setting. The development of technologies including Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) has helped transform how healthcare organizations operate.
PACS has proven itself to be a crucial tool for chiropractors, radiologists, and physicians alike, by allowing them to quickly and easily share digital diagnostic images. Along with being an invaluable technology in it’s own right, PACS is now evolving to be a cloud-based solution. This shift to cloud-based systems provides chiropractors with a wide range of benefits, some of which we’ve outlined below.
Once you have taken the x-ray, the next question is how you will view them. Most chiropractic offices will have a designated Report of Findings (ROF) room, where they will have a dedicated computer and monitor to show the images to their patients. The monitor can be a traditional computer monitor, or some of our customers will use a TV connected to a computer to display the images in large format. In order to view images in multiple rooms, you want to ensure that the system that you purchase will have either a cloud or web-based viewer or a desktop application viewer that can be installed in other rooms to be able to view the images in multiple rooms, as some packages do not include this.
A viewer is just one part of the puzzle. We discussed previously that a PACS system is what you will need to store the images. In most cases, it is this PACS system that is used as the central database for your viewer in other rooms to access and view those images. We are going to now discuss some of the key elements in how to view digital x-rays:
