If a picture is worth a thousand words, then you can imagine the value of a movie!  The video above (or below) may look familiar to you if you have ever seen a radiograph, or x-ray as it is commonly called, but something is different: it’s moving!  Digital Motion X-Ray (DMX) is a new type of videofluoroscopic x-ray system that uses new digital and optic technology, which allows us at Fisher Chiropractic to view the spine and other joints in real-time motion at 30 x-rays per second. The procedure is performed with the patient standing and actively moving in a weight-bearing position in a way that reproduces the pain.  The vast majority of pain occurs when a person is moving; this is the only technology available that allows us to see what is happening during that time. We are one of a select few in Illinois who has it!

Why do patients need Digital Motion X-Ray®? While there are many reasons, the two types of patients that benefit the most are those that have pain that is worse with movement and those who have suffered from a car accident injury and have been diagnosed with whiplash and it hasn’t improved.  In addition to the benefits of a normal radiograph, DMX allows for us to see that your joints are moving properly and if ligaments are damaged.  This allows us to develop a treatment plan that will precisely deal with your injury.  

Let’s use neck pain as an example.  The most common result of a radiograph is “slight arthritis” or “normal”.  The reason is that radiographs are taken for 3 primary reasons: to rule out fractures, gross dislocations, and/or certain metabolic diseases.  While these still need to be ruled out, they are not the most common causes of pain and dysfunction.  While MRI’s are excellent at showing discs, there are no discs in the upper 30% of your neck or in the back of your neck.  What is in your neck that can’t easily be evaluated by traditional X-ray or MRI are ligaments, little structures that when damaged, can cause headaches, neck pain, pain referred into your back and elsewhere, nausea, dizziness and many other symptoms.  DMX is the best imaging tool to see if your neck is moving properly and if any ligaments are damaged. Once we identify if your neck is moving properly and if any ligaments are damaged, we can design a treatment specifically for you.  This holds true to other joints in the body.

We have already seen cases of Digital Motion X-ray finding the hidden cause of both acute and chronic pain.  Contact our office at (630)455-4545 to see if DMX can help you or someone you know.