X-Rays: Can X-Rays Hurt You?

Some people are very, very concerned about X-rays.  And that’s good! It means people care about their health.

We love X-rays, or at least the kinds of X-rays that we use in our clinics.

There are different kinds of X-ray technology, and we do not use a “contrast medium” – such as iodine or barium.  So that makes our X-rays less of a risk.

However, the only time we really recommend consideration is for women that are pregnant.  Even then, the risk is low according to the Mayo Clinic.

According to Harvard Health:

The biological effects of radiation on the body are described by a measurement called a millisievert (mSv). We are all exposed to some amount of natural radiation from the sun, from the earth, and even from some natural chemicals in our bodies. The average natural background radiation in the United States is 3.7 mSv per year.

So that’s the context. That’s the radiation that you can’t avoid. Now let’s look at how much radiation you get from different types of scans. There is so little radiation with airport scanners that you would have to get over 25,000 scans in one year to equal the amount of radiation that you are naturally exposed to. (That would be a lot of frequent flyer miles.)

A simple chest x-ray (two views) exposes a person to an average of 0.01 mSv, or roughly the amount of radiation you get in a day from the natural background. Dental x-rays are even less.

On the other hand, radiation from CT scans is much greater—4 to 7 mSv for chest CT scans, somewhat higher for abdominal scans. The more scans you have, the higher your lifetime exposure and therefore the higher your risk. The American College of Radiology recommends limiting lifetime diagnostic radiation exposure to 100 mSv. That is equal to 10,000 chest x-rays or up to 25 chest CTs. I’ve known patients who have had 25 or more CT scans in their lives. But I’ve never met anyone who’s had 10,000 chest x-rays.

So those are the numbers.  

We are not fans of over-exposure to radiation.  We are huge fans of good diagnostics that allow educated health decisions.  We never want to “over x-ray” anyone, and through the normal process of a Corrective Care protocol, a patient may get 2-4 X-rays within a 6-12 month time-frame.

To us, that just makes good healthcare sense.  We want to avoid being “penny wise and dollar foolish” when it comes to health and diagnostics.

TAKEAWAY: X-Rays (or the kind we take) expose someone to about as much radiation as a normal day of life. The benefits are that you get to see what is really going on inside the body, which allows a proper diagnosis to be made.

Our offer to you: If you’d like to come in, see one of our doctors to discuss X-ray diagnostics, or how Chiropractic Care or Functional Medicine might support your body, then you can do so by claiming our $19 new patient special. Simply select the location you want to visit, give us a call, and we’ll look forward to meeting you!