Due to its anatomical structure and, more importantly, due to daily stresses, the hip joint is prone to a number of injuries and conditions. One of the most accurate methods of diagnosing hip joint pain is an MRI scan. This examination is completely non-invasive and painless. This is because during magnetic resonance imaging, a magnet, radio waves and a sophisticated computer are used to produce extremely detailed and precise images showing the inside of the hip joint.
What are the indications for an MRI of the hip?
An MRI of the hip joint may be necessary for a number of complaints reported by the patient, including:
- Hip joint pain,
- swelling of the hip joint,
- Hip joint stiffness,
- Locking or instability of the joint during movement,
- Limited mobility of the hip joint,
- inflammation,
- signs of damage to muscles, cartilage, joint capsules or ligaments.
What are the contraindications to an MRI of the hip?
A contraindication to a hip examination using MRI is the presence of electronic medical devices or metal components with ferromagnetic properties in the patient’s body, such as a pacemaker, orthopedic screws, or an insulin pump. At the same time, it should be noted that each element that has been implanted in the patient’s body has the appropriate certificates with information on what material it is made of. Currently, a large proportion of implants are not a contraindication to examination in the high electromagnetic field found in MRI, as they are created from alloys of materials that do not exhibit ferromagnetic properties, such as titanium.