Common Orthopaedic Tests

Powerful Diagnostics from Great River Orthopaedic Specialists

If you need tests to pinpoint your diagnosis or to help develop your treatment plan, they will be scheduled for you, usually at Great River Medical Center. The most common tests for our patients are:

Bone scan – A highly sensitive test that can help diagnose fractures, infection, osteoarthritis, osteomyelitis, and tumors. Because a bone scan measures activity, it can detect problems before they show structural changes on X-rays.

Computed tomography (CT) scan – A noninvasive test that produces three-dimensional images of bones and surrounding soft tissues inside the body

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) – A noninvasive diagnostic technique combines magnetism, radio waves and a computer to produce highly detailed images of internal body structures. Physicians can detect tiny changes in your bones and joints and the soft tissues around them.

Myelogram – A lumbar puncture with minimal pain followed by an injection of special dye into the spinal canal. It helps physicians determine whether symptoms are caused by spinal-cord tumors, bone spurs or spinal cord compression from a herniated disk.

Nerve-conduction testing and electromyogram (EMG) – Often done together, these two minimally invasive tests measure the electrical activity of nerves and muscles to find disease or damage affecting them, along with bones and joints. Nerve-conduction testing involves sending a quick electrical impulse into a nerve. In an EMG, a medical professional inserts a thin needle into a muscle to measure its activity.

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(Mount Pleasant) to schedule an appointment today.