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You Can Be Fit Personal Training Services
In our Silver Spring office we offer a custom fitness/nutrition program
that will teach you proper posture, aerobic training, strength training,
flexibility, balance, nutrition and commitment. If you are an athlete and
want to improve your performance, this program is for you as well. During
the initial assessment we will analyze your posture while standing,
walking and during specific exercise movements. This analysis will allow
us to determine which of your muscle groups are flexible and which are
inflexible, which muscles are strong and which are weak and in what
positions you have good balance and what positions you have poor balance.
Your will program will be designed to correct these problem areas and meet
your fitness goals: better health, better physique, weight removal,
hypertension and diabetes control, or sports performance.
For more information, see our website or call our office today!
X-Rays, CAT Scans and MRIs: What Are They and Which One Do You Need?
MRIs, CAT Scans and X-Rays are all considered radiological procedures.
Which one you made need to have is dependent on the history of your
condition and what your doctor finds when you are examined. There are
two main reasons to have any diagnostic test: to help the doctor diagnose
your condition and to determine (or change) the treatment necessary.
If the test does not help answer these questions, it is probably not
worth having. Make sure your doctor explains the answers to the
aforementioned questions before the test is done.
X-rays are a type of invisible light that passes through objects rather
than bouncing off them the way visible light does. X-rays do not cause
heat, pain, or any other feeling as they pass though the body. X-rays can
be used a to determine whether a patient with a bad cough has pneumonia,
whether a bone is fractured, whether bones are in their proper alignment,
or to figure out if a child's skeleton is growing at a normal rate.
X-rays pass right through human skin and tissue, but they do not pass
through bone. If nothing blocks the X-ray, that area of the film is
black. If something blocks the X-ray the area is white. The denser
the object, the whiter the area. For instance, when you have a neck
X-ray any metal dental work is very white. The cervical vertebrae
(bones) are white , but not as white. In a chest X-ray, if the lungs
are healthy, they are pretty dark. If you have pneumonia, it will
show up grayish white. X-rays are frequently used as the initial
radiological procedure. Based on the results of the X-rays a CAT
Scan or MRI may be recommended.
CAT Scan means computerized axial tomography. The CAT machine looks
like a giant donut tipped on its side. The patient lies down on a
platform, which slowly moves through the hole in the machine. The
X-ray tube is mounted on a movable ring around the edges of the hole.
A motor turns the ring so that the X-ray tube and the X-ray detectors
revolve around the body (in an alternative design, the tube remains
stationary and the X-ray beam is bounced off a revolving reflector).
Each full revolution scans a narrow, horizontal "slice" of the body.
A CAT scan machine forms a full three-dimensional computer model of a
patient's insides allowing an examination of the body one narrow slice
at a time to pinpoint specific areas. CAT Scans are excellent for
imaging occult (difficult to find) fractures.
MRI means magnetic resonance imaging. MRI provides an
unparalleled detailed view inside the human body. MRI is the method
of choice for the diagnosis of many types of injuries and conditions
because of the incredible ability to tailor the exam to the particular
medical question being asked. Most of the MRI unit is a magnet. The
unit sends a radio wave (not an X-ray) into the body and the signal is
read by the computer and converted into a picture. There are two types
of MRIs: open and closed. The open unit (see Washingtonopenmri.com)
allows the patient more comfort, as they are not totally enclosed by the
closed MRI unit. In the closed unit, the patient is totally enclosed
with only one open end. Closed units (high field) are necessary for
imaging certain areas of the body (kidney, pancreas, optic nerve), but
for spine and extremity problems the newer open units are great.
Contraindications are metallic fragments in the eye, pacemaker, aneurysm
clips, dental implants and orthopedic appliances. MRI is the best test
to determine if there is a disc bulge or herniation.
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Maryland Sports Injury Center