Winter can be a great time for outdoor activities like skiing, tubing, or even building a snowman. It can also be a time for strenuous activities such as clearing snow from a walkway or driveway, or an accidental slip and fall on ice.
Whatever the activity may be, there is always the chance of injury whether it is a mild injury or something more serious like a muscle tear.
A muscle strain is damage caused by over-stretching the muscle tissue. There are three types of strains:
- Grade I is minimal stretching or tearing of the muscle, resulting in a mild injury.
- Grade II is a bit more painful and bruising, swelling, or loss of strength in the area can occur.
- Grade III is the most serious and can be a complete tear of the muscle. Some individuals report a pop sound or feel. This type of injury can have intense pain, swelling, trouble moving the affected joint or limb, and a visible dip in the skin.
Your healthcare provider may order an MRI to learn more about your injury. An MRI is the best type of imaging when looking at tissue and can pinpoint the location of even the smallest muscle strains and determine whether a partial or complete strain has occurred.
The radiologists at AMI are board-certified with sub-specialty training in the field of musculoskeletal imaging. Our radiologists diagnose injuries and diseases that affect the muscles, bones, joints, tendons, nerves, and other connective tissue. Our physicians have consistently practiced in the forefront of the newest applications of MRI. MRI applications that are being utilized clinically at the major university hospitals are certain to be found at AMI.
Our locations are equipped with various MRI units to accommodate all patients. Our GE 3.0T MRI is one of the most technologically advanced MRI machines available and provides high-resolution digital imaging of any body part, including shoulders, knees, brain and spine. We also offer a 1.5T wide bore MRI unit. The wider gantry design, coupled with our experienced and caring technologists, we can accommodate patients who are claustrophobic, elderly, pediatric, physically challenged, and larger sized. With the Upright MRI, we can perform positional imaging which allows patients to be scanned in positions such as sitting or lying down. As a result of its unique ability to scan patients in weight-bearing positions, the Upright MRI has detected problems that may have gone undetected on ordinary lie-down scanners.
MRI exams take between 30 and 60 minutes, depending on which part of the body your healthcare provider wants to examine. You will not feel any pain during or after the MRI scan. During your scan, you will hear a rhythmic tapping sound; this is the normal sound of the magnetic fields as it scans. To make your exam even more comfortable, AMI offers headphones for listening to music and video goggles for matching movies.
In preparation for your MRI, you will be asked to change into a gown. You will also be asked to remove things that could affect the magnetic imaging, such as jewelry, eyeglasses, dentures, hearing aids, and any other object that contains metal. Dyes used in tattoos and permanent eyeliner may contain metallic iron oxide and could, in rare circumstances, heat up during MRI.
You can conveniently schedule your MRI appointment by calling our central scheduling team or by booking your appointment online through the AMI Patient Portal. Through the portal, you can book an appointment, complete your forms, and view your results all online, 24/7. Click here to register for a portal account today.
For more information about our MRI services, please click here.