We often receive questions as to whether an X-ray or MRI scan should be taken from clients who are in need of orthopedic (bone and muscle) treatments. We asked our consultant doctor, Dr. Nagumo for the answer to this question as below.
Dr. Yoshiaki Nagumo, MD, PhD established NAG Orthopaedic Clinic in 2023 in Shirokane, Tokyo.
Dr. Nagumo originally started his career as a bone and soft tissue tumor specialist. After several years of clinical activity, he moved to the US (The University of Iowa) in 2018 for a few years to research regenerative medicine.
He also played several sports. However, while in the US he suffered from knee injury and therefore keenly appreciated the importance of sports medicine.
After coming back to Japan, he changed his medical specialty to a sports doctor, and treats many athletes based on his own personal experience.
Do we really need an X-ray?
An X-ray is one of the most common examinations in orthopedics. It is useful to see joint alignment and bone deformities. However, especially in big hospitals, a lot of orthopedists take it even when it may be apparently unnecessary (actually, when I visited the sports clinic in the US, an X-ray was applied before even seeing the orthopedist).
An X-ray is a common examination in orthopedic medicine, but its usage is limited to fractures, osteoarthritis and congenital bone deformity. Other symptoms such as neck and back pain/stiffness, joint motion restriction and sprains should be examined first by ultrasound, simply because we can’t see anything relating to soft tissue with an X-ray.
In my clinic, we perform the ultrasound scan first. If further examination is required, we order an MRI to a testing center and you can take it within a few days in general. Through this procedure, our patient can get a clear diagnosis quickly and move on to the appropriate treatment.
Dr. Nagumo’s clinic can offer a wide variety of orthopedic and also primary surgery treatments for children to adults. Japanese Health Insurance is accepted. The clinic is open on Saturdays and evenings (16:00-18:00) on weekdays.
Please contact JHI for appointment arrangements.