Greetings to all the users who make life in the StemSocial community, at the beginning of the week I wish you the best. Today I want to share a case of a personal experience, using an imaging study that is by far the most used worldwide, because of the speed with which it is obtained and also because of its low cost compared to others, and these are the X-rays.

A study that has a very particular origin, which was discovered practically by accident, but which revolutionized diagnostic medicine because it turned out to be the first time in the history of humanity to see part of the skeletal system without the need to open the body. But this is not precisely the topic that I want to develop in this publication, however, I could develop it later.

This time I want to show the X-rays of a cousin (with her due permission), who asked me to give her my diagnostic impression of what she saw, before she went to the specialist.

Let's start with the following, a brief summary of your case:

She is a 53-year-old female patient, with a history of high blood pressure with treatment, who requests medical attention due to severe pain in the heels of both feet, predominantly on the left side, and additionally presents paresthesia (numbness) of the lower limbs.

I must point out that he has always worked as a teacher, spending many hours a day on his feet, and is moderately overweight. She went to a primary health care center where she was assessed by a general practitioner, who indicated AP and lateral lumbar spine X-rays, as well as lower limbs.

After doing these X-rays, he sent them to me via Whatsapp so that I could give him my opinion. And gladly as far as possible. I do what I can to help my family.

In the image above, the first thing that should catch your attention, and which I have marked with yellow lines, is that her spine is totally deviated, it has a very pronounced curvature, and this logically, starting from the normal structure of the spine, has its repercussions, which could explain the numbness of her lower limbs.

In the following image I present a comparison in which I point out what should be and what can be seen in the X-Ray of my cousin, which was taken laterally.

With the arrows I point out two fundamental parts that differ. The one above is pointing out the intervertebral space, it is through this space, between the rings that are between the vertebrae and that serve as shock absorbers, pass the nerves that come out of the spine and that go to the lower limbs (in the lumbar spine) and also the nerves that perceive in all the periphery and transmit the sensations to the central nervous system.

In this case that space is very diminished, which implies that very probably they are pressing the nerves that pass through there, limiting the possibility of the nerve impulse to pass effectively. And this may explain what she refers to, the numbness.

Pixabay / Author:X-rays provided by my cousin

The second arrow, the lower one, is pointing to the space , which as you can see are also decreased.

In the following image, we can clearly see that they are the X-rays of the feet, in which I have highlighted between yellow circles two bony structures that come out with certain frequency, and it is what very probably is causing the pain.

These are called Spurs or osteophytes, and they grow without a previous determined condition, and because they are something that should not be there, they affect the peripheral areas.

In the image below you can see the following:

A, a space under the bone that is darker (radiolucent), this is because there is a local inflammatory process. This is because there is a local inflammatory process. And because of this process, fluid accumulates there. In that area there is a very important tendon that is frequently the one that is injured by the compression with the spur, **and very probably, almost certainly, this is the reason for the pain in this case.

B, the spur, as you can notice is a bony protuberance, which is usually pointed, and it is the one that generates the discomfort and the pain.

And in this way I end this publication, hoping that you have clearly understood what I have tried to explain.

I did not intend to add treatment or anything else, because often the problem of the spine, as in this case, is surgical, and I can not talk about what I am not familiar with, and on the other hand, regarding the treatment of spurs, usually suggest changing shoes, use of special insoles for shoes, even local infiltration of steroids to reduce the inflammatory process, and as a last option, surgery.

Thank you very much for reading my publication.

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Links Consulted:

• Fundamentals of X-Ray Physics

• X-RAY FILM READING MADE EASY