The Diagnostic Value of a Spinal X-ray: In a Chiropractor’s Office, Every Picture Tells a Story

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Scott Evers, President, Genesis Digital Imaging, a Division of Carestream

One of the issues every chiropractor must face is how to explain a course of treatment to a patient who needs it. Chiropractors are much in the news anyway, and the discussion ranges from doubts about the fundamental value of chiropractic treatment to the testimony of legions of patients who swear by it. As with any professionals, chiropractors use many of the same techniques of diagnosis as the rest of medicine, and this often includes an X-ray.

The X-ray can clearly indicate the need for a type of treatment in a way no other diagnostic scheme can provide. Some chiropractors will read the X-ray themselves, while others will have it read by a radiologist. Yet diagnosis is only a small part of the chiropractor’s dilemma—having analyzed a patient’s issue, it is still necessary to explain it in a way that the patient can comprehend and buy into.

This is where the X-ray can play a leading role. Carestream Vita CR and a chiropractic measurement toolset are critical.  With this in place, a chiropractor can often show patients the cause of their pain. From that point, explaining the course of treatment most likely to alleviate the problem is much easier—and with the help of the X-ray the doctor can make the point with a minimum of medical jargon.

You can click on the following link to learn more about the  DirectView Vita CR digital X-ray system.