Hip MRI in Denver
Assess Pain With an MRI of the Hip
Hip complaints are common in Colorado's active population, often due to trauma, overuse, or arthritis. A hip MRI helps doctors examine the hip joints and surrounding tissues to understand the cause of pain. MRI is a radiology imaging examination used to diagnose a complaint or symptom. Your doctor may order an MRI of the hip to evaluate pain after sudden trauma like an accident or sports injury or to get a better look at a finding discovered on an X-ray.
A hip MRI is also valuable for assessing long-standing complaints such as arthritis, a degenerative joint disease. As we age, arthritis can cause chronic hip pain. Not all arthritis is from wear and tear. Some hip pain results from inflammatory arthritis, where the inflammation in the joint space causes pain and swelling and may cause destruction of the hip joint over time. Examples of this include rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis. MRI technology excels at evaluating joint fluid and can even determine whether that fluid represents blood (called hemarthrosis) or inflammation (called bursitis).
What Does a Hip MRI Show?
Certain conditions, such as degenerative arthritis or bone fracture, can be best evaluated with regular X-rays. However, standard medical diagnostic imaging cannot assess all symptoms. A hip MRI can better visualize and evaluate the joint and soft tissue components with more detailed imaging. MRI of the hip allows us to look at:
Cartilage tears
Acetabular labrum tears
Torn ligaments or tendons
Sports injuries
Tumor diagnosis
Subtle hip injuries may involve the cartilage (the slippery protective covering of the femoral head and the acetabulum). Sometimes, the cushion between the hip bones, called the acetabular labrum, can tear. A part of the folded labrum or a fragment may produce a clicking or catching sensation or pain when you walk or run. With major sports injuries, the ligaments (fibrous bands that connect the bones of the hip joint) or the tendons (fibrous collagen that connects the bones to the hip muscles) can sometimes be sprained or torn.
A specific type of hip injury from trauma or overuse that affects the vascular supply of the bone is called avascular necrosis and is also best evaluated by MRI. This condition can be seen in runners and with long-term corticosteroid use.
MRI is also used to diagnose a medical condition and help with treatment planning. MRI can determine whether an acute (sudden) or long-standing (chronic) labrum cartilage tear may cause an athlete's pain. The procedure can identify a tear within the hip joint, including details on its severity. If you need surgery, MRI scan images give an orthopedic surgeon a more detailed map.
MRI can be used as a diagnostic scan to diagnose tumors. If a tumor is suspected based on your symptoms, an oncologic orthopedic surgeon who specializes specifically in tumors of the bones, joints, and supporting soft tissues may order a specific type of hip MRI. The tumor MRI protocol usually requires intravenous contrast to show vessels. Your MRI technologist will explain what protocol is indicated.
Understanding Hip Anatomy
The strength of the hip comes from the muscles that make up the hip and strong ligaments. The iliofemoral ligament is the strongest in the body. The muscles are divided up into groups that allow different movements and forces.
How a Hip MRI Is Performed
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI for short) is a medical diagnostic imaging technology that uses magnets and radio waves to produce detailed 3D imaging of the hip and joint. These signals produce medical diagnostic images for radiologists to interpret and distinguish between normal and abnormal tissues.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Hip MRIs
A Hip MRI is a radiology imaging examination used to diagnose a complaint or symptom. In Colorado’s active population, hip complaints are common from trauma, overuse, and arthritis. Your clinician may order an MRI to evaluate hip pain after sudden trauma like an accident or sports injury.
MRI is also used to evaluate long-standing complaints such as arthritis. The technology can evaluate fluid in the joint easily and even distinguish whether that fluid represents blood (called hemarthrosis) or inflammation (called bursitis).
You will be asked to complete the medical history of any underlying medical conditions. Please tell the scheduler and the technologist if you have any metal in your body such as metal fragments from trauma or surgery that may be an issue for the “magnetic pull” of the MRI.
Tell us if you have had any surgery or other procedures anywhere on your body, including your limbs, abdomen, brain, or heart.
If you have any implanted devices such as pacemakers, defibrillators, aneurysm clips, auditory hearing implants, neurotransmitters, internal wires or electrodes, implanted pumps or ports, surgical mesh, any coils, stents, or filters please tell your technologist before scheduling because an MRI may not be possible.
- Many cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators are not compatible with MRI. Some of the newer devices are, so it is important to know from your surgeon and the manufacturer what kind you have.
Some external body wear or designs such as body or face/ makeup tattooing, and permanent piercings may limit you from having the MRI. Current or prior metal workers may have small fragments in their eyes as an occupational hazard. You may be asked to have an x-ray prior to performing the MRI. Jewelry and piercings need to be taken out by you for your safety prior to the MRI exam.
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Hip MRI Near Me
With multiple location across the Denver area, we make it easy for you to find a “Women’s Imaging Center near me” or a “Medical Diagnostic Imaging Center near me”
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