BACK IN ACTION CHIROPRACTIC
  • Home
  • AUTO ACCIDENTS
    • How We Can Help
  • Why We are Different
    • Proadjuster
    • Meet our Staff
  • Contact Us
  • First Visit
    • New Patient Paperwork
    • Office Tour
  • Blog

Want More? Check out our blog posts!

Are Chiropractic X-Rays Safe?

11/21/2016

1 Comment

 
My patients in my Bellevue chiropractic office occasionally ask me whether chiropractic x-rays are safe, so I wanted to summarize the current FDA statements on x-ray safety and give you a couple credible resources where you can learn more. Read the full article if you want the complete story, but if you are looking for a quick answer, the FDA estimates that the radiation exposure from a chest ray is roughly equivalent to the background radiation you are exposed to in 10 ordinary days on planet Earth.
The FDA states on its website "Don't refuse an X-ray. The risk of not having a needed X-ray is greater than the small risk of radiation."


First of all, there is no difference between a chiropractic x-ray and any other type of x-ray. While x-ray equipment does vary slightly by manufacturer, what really matters is the body part being imaged. Different body tissues absorb radiation in different ways.


To provide consumers with a way of monitoring radiation exposure across multiple sources, the FDA uses an effective dosage scale. Each type of x-ray has an effective dosage associated with it measured in millisieverts (mSv). Since millisieverts isn't a unit of measure most people are familiar with (like a mile or a teaspoon), having a reference value helps put the numbers in context. The FDA estimates that the average person is exposed to 3.0 millisieverts of radiation per year from naturally occurring radioactive materials and cosmic rays. That's what allows them to state that a 0.1 millisievert dosage from a chest x-ray is equivalent to about 10 days of background radiation exposure.


Compared to a chest x-ray, x-rays of the extremities (arms and legs) have a much lower effective dosage and x-rays of the lower torso have a higher effective dosage. Recall that the effective dosage comes mainly from the body part being imaged not the intensity or duration of the x-ray machine pulse. Here's a summary of effective dosages and background radiation equivalents for the various types of x-rays a chiropractor is likely to recommend:


• Extremities - 0.001 mSv – similar to 3 hours background radiation
• Chest - 0.1 mSv - similar to 10 days background radiation
• Spine - 1.5 mSv - similar to 6 months background radiation


The FDA website and the excellent radiologyinfo.org website from the American College of Radiology and the Radiological Society of North America both point out that disease risks from radiation exposure are cumulative across time and that patients play a critical role in tracking their own exposure levels. Since you may be working with multiple health care providers in different specialty areas, you should keep a log of your exposures. Here is a link to a site where you can download a personal Patient Medical Imaging Record: imagewisely.org/Patients.aspx


Note that this article refers to effective exposures and recommendations for adults. If you are pregnant or looking for x-ray safety information for children, visit imagegently.org
​

Bibliography
Consumer Updates Reducing Radiation from Medical X rays. (n.d.). Retrieved 8 29, 2011, from FDA.gov: http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm095505.htm
Patient Safety X ray and CT. (n.d.). Retrieved 8 29, 2011, from Radiologyinfo.org: http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/safety/index.cfm?pg=sfty_xray
Radiology Risks Benefits for Patients Image Wisely Image Wisely. (n.d.). Retrieved 8 29, 2011, from ImageWisely.org: http://imagewisely.org/Patients.aspx
1 Comment
MckimmeCue link
6/3/2022 05:09:48 am

What an exquisite article! Your post is very helpful right now. Thank you for sharing this informative one.
If you are looking for coupon codes and deals just visit coupon plus deals dot com

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Dr. Michael Weir 

    Archives

    April 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016

    Categories

    All
    Car Accidents
    Chiropractic
    Headaches
    Health Information
    In The News
    Kids
    Pregnancy
    Recipes
    Tips And Tricks

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • AUTO ACCIDENTS
    • How We Can Help
  • Why We are Different
    • Proadjuster
    • Meet our Staff
  • Contact Us
  • First Visit
    • New Patient Paperwork
    • Office Tour
  • Blog