can a simple x-ray find a stress fracture in my lower leg? or is a bone scan necessary?
can a simple x-ray find a stress fracture in my lower leg? or is a bone scan necessary?
Stress fractures don't show up on X-rays. Only the healing process does, which takes about a week or two after the initial fracture.
i'm not really sure what you mean by that. i think i have a stress fracture, should i get a bone scan, where they inject radioactive material and then scan it? i went for just an x-ray, and they said they couldn't find anything, but i don't think that was good enough.
A stress fracture dosen't show up at all on an x-ray. You only see new bone growth after a few weeks of healing. A bone scan will show decisevly if you have a stress fracture as a dark/light spot on you leg will indicate one way or another. Basically if it feels like one, and you're relatively sure just take the 6 weeks off and savve yourself the time and money.
well, i've never had an injury before, so i don't really know what one feels like, specifically a stress fracture. it doesn't hurt real bad yet, and did not hinder my running when i was in season, but if i push on the bone in a certain area, it hurts. i think i'm going to try and get a stress fracture so i know for sure.
theory of gravity wrote:
Stress fractures don't show up on X-rays. Only the healing process does, which takes about a week or two after the initial fracture.
Your fracture can show up if it's bad enough, mine did in my metatarsal. I wish they would have let me keep the Xray.
what if it's not bad enough, but there? then what?
if you want your stress fracture/reaction to show up on an x-ray, you need to take at least a week off running beforehand to let the healing begin. if you don't take that week off first, the chances are there won't be a calcium deposit.
They should have D3 runner, the x-ray is YOUR property
well when i got the x-ray, i had already taken about 2 weeks off from running, except for baseball to the bases and whatever, but that's not a lot. however, they said they didn't see anything on the x-ray, but i'm not sure they knew what they were looking for.
Dude, get an MRI.
I had a stress reaction (beginnings of a stress fracture) that was not positively diagnosed by the x-ray but was with a MRI. The symptoms you have a similar to what mine were. Honestly, all a positive diagnoses is going to do is let you know that you still need to rest the injury. Get the MRI/bone scan if you really want to be sure, but in the end, you are still going to need to rest and rehab. Mine has flared up again and I don't see the need to go back for another MRI, just cutting to the chase and resting.