It is also often requested in post-operative examinations evaluating the placement of existing orthopedic devices. Calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease.This view helps to visualize any potential fractures, dislocations, bone lesions or degenerative diseases to the hip joint. Leg length discrepancy - treatment indications and strategies. Osteoarthritis of the hip: Is radiography still needed? Osteoarthritis: New insight on its pathophysiology. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy. Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. But you may need to schedule a follow-up appointment to discuss the results and what treatments you might need. You may be able to review X-rays with a radiologist or doctor right away. Once the technician gets the needed images, you can change into your regular clothes and leave the facility shortly afterward. This helps make sure that the image is clear. Stand or lie very still as the X-ray image is taken. Other X-rays may require lying down so the technician can move a specialized camera over your hip to take X-ray images. Some X-rays will require standing next to a plate-shaped tool that can produce X-ray images. Let the technician know if you have any metal implants in your body that may interfere with X-ray results.Take off any jewelry or metal accessories that may stop X-rays from producing clear images.Wear loose clothing that’s comfortable and easy to take on and off if you have to change into a gown.

subspine (anterior inferior iliac spine) impingement. There are several different impingement syndromes of and around the hip, which are all characterized by a painful reduction of motion in the hip joint 1: femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) ischiofemoral impingement. Here are some tips to help make the X-ray process more comfortable: Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data. You don’t need to do much to prepare for a hip X-ray. Radiology labs or clinics that specialize in imaging tests typically perform hip X-rays. This common complication of osteoarthritis appears as white lines at the surface of the cartilage. You may also notice bone spurs or cysts that have grown on your bone surfaces due to disease in the joint.Īn X-ray may also show chondrocalcinosis, the buildup of calcium crystals in the joints. Pieces of damaged cartilage and bone from wear and tear to the joint may also be visible on a hip X-ray as white chunks around the joint. You may also see cracks in the bone, pieces missing from the femur head, or white areas where the femur has hardened ( subchondral sclerosis). When this happens, you might feel significant pain and stiffness when you try to walk, stand, or sit. This causes the bones to scrape against each other as you move your leg. If you have hip osteoarthritis, this joint space might look much narrower because the cartilage has worn away, allowing the femur head to move closer to the bone inside the pelvic socket. In a typical hip X-ray, you’ll see a space between the femur head and the pelvis where the cartilage cushions the femur in the joint. The ball-shaped, cartilage-covered femur head fits into a socket of the pelvic bone and allows your leg to move in many directions. Your hip joint is a ball-and-socket joint. What does osteoarthritis look like on an X-ray?

Xray of normal hip joint