X-ray and CT

X-rays are a very energetic form of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength of 0.01 to 10 nanometers. This type of radiation has enough energy to pass through your body. Because the radiation moves through your body and different types of organs and tissue differently, radiologists can create pictures of them. Because of the X-rays' ability to create an image of the parts of your body that are usually invisible to us humans, it is one of the most common and widely available diagnostic imaging techniques. They are especially effective when it comes to the diagnosing of bone fractures. Some people have fears regarding the amount of radiation one is exposed to during an X-ray, but one's only exposed to a fraction of the background radiation one meets in a year. The benefits of such a scan usually outweigh the risk regardless.

A CT (computerized tomography) combines images from X-rays taken at different angles. The patient lies inside of something that looks like a big tube whilst the scanner circulates around them, creating a detailed 360 image of their internal organs, the spine and vertebrae. It is similar to an X-ray in many ways, but it is a more complex image that gives a better overview of the body's soft tissue and circulation system than a regular X-ray scan.