X-ray beams pass through your body, and they are absorbed in different amounts depending on the density of the material they pass through. Dense materials, such as bone and metal, show up as white on X-rays. The air in lungs shows as black. Fat and muscle appear as shades of gray.
Locations
A ligament is a tough band of fibrous tissue that connects bone to bone or bone to cartilage.
While ligaments are extremely strong, they can be stretched or even torn, resulting in different grades of sprains.
A ligament tear usually occurs due to extreme force to a joint such as with a fall or another high-impact event. Common ligament tears are to the ankle, knee, wrist, thumb, neck, or back ligament
Movement will be impaired when a ligament is torn, resulting in looseness in the joint or being unable to move the joint normally
- Ankle: Ligament tears are most common for the lateral ligament complex, which include the anterior talofibular (ATFL), the calcaneofibular (CFL), and posterior talofibular (PTFL) ligaments.
- Knee: The four major knee ligaments are the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), medial collateral ligament (MCL), and lateral collateral ligament (LCL). The ACL is the most common ligament to be injured.
- Wrist: There are 20 ligaments in the wrist and tears most often occur in falling on an outstretched hand. The scapholunate ligament and the triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) are the most common ones injured.
Other common sites of ligament tears :
- Thumb: The ulnar collateral ligament can be torn when skiing or in a fall when the thumb is bent in an extreme position.
- Neck: The ligaments of the neck can be torn during whiplash injuries when sudden acceleration and deceleration cause extreme movement of the cervical spine.
- Back: The ligaments in the back can be torn by lifting something that is too heavy.
Diagnosis
- Grade 1: This is a mild sprain that damages the ligament but does not cause significant tearing.
- Grade 2: This is a moderate sprain that includes a partial tear of the ligament. As a result, the joint may show abnormal looseness.
- Grade 3: This is a severe sprain with a complete tear of the ligament. It results in instability of the joint and loss of use.
- Treatment
- Rest, ice, compression, and elevation (R.I.C.E.) is the initial treatment protocol for a ligament injury.
Rest: Once injured, further activity that stresses the injured area must be stopped until the injury is allowed to recover over a period of time.
Ice: Cold contact provides short-term pain relief to an injured area and works to limit swelling.
Compression: Compression (e.g., wrapping the injured area with an elastic bandage) helps reduce and limit overall swelling. It also occasionally works to ease pain.
Elevation: This helps control blood flow to the area and, thus, reduce swelling. This is most effective when the injured area is raised above heart level.
Bones and teeth
- Fractures and infections. fractures and infections in bones and teeth show up clearly on X-rays.
- Arthritis. X-rays of your joints can reveal evidence of arthritis.
- Dental decay. Dentists use X-rays to check for cavities in teeth.
- Osteoporosis. Special types of X-ray tests can measure bone density.
- Bone cancer. reveal bone tumors.
Chest
- Lung infections or conditions. Evidence of pneumonia, tuberculosis or lung cancer .
- Breast cancer. Mammography is a type of X-ray test used to examine breast tissue.
- Enlarged heart. This congestive heart failure shows up clearly on X-rays.
- Blocked blood vessels. Injecting a contrast material that contains iodine can help highlight sections of your circulatory system to make them visible on X-rays.
Abdomen
- Digestive tract problems. Barium, a contrast medium delivered in a drink or an enema, to find problems in your digestive system.
- Swallowed items. If your child has swallowed something such as a coin, an X-ray can show the location of that object.
