Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

What You Need To Know About MRI

Learn how MRI works, who qualifies, and what to expect during your scan.

Advanced MRI for Foot and Ankle Care

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is the fastest and safest non-invasive method to get the clearest pictures of your foot and ankle condition. Since their invention in the late 1970s, MRI has grown to become an indispensable part of practice for podiatric and orthopedic physicians.

MRI allows us the ability to see inside the body and visualize a structure, determine the extent of injury, and provide focused treatment. MRI does all of this without using X-rays. Instead, it uses a magnetic field that absorbs or deflects the electric charge given off by the cells themselves and creates a picture from that deflected charge.

While MRI has universal applications, not everyone qualifies for its use. Those with brain aneurysm clips, metallic foreign bodies in the eye, recent surgery with orthopedic implants, pacemakers, or cochlear implants should not use MRI. Our technologists are trained to determine if MRI will be allowable for use in your case.

MRI is commonly used to evaluate soft tissue injuries, tendon and ligament damage, stress fractures, bone marrow changes, arthritis, tumors, and unexplained pain that cannot be identified through X-ray alone. If your provider recommends an MRI, it is because a clearer picture of your anatomy is needed to guide the right treatment plan for you.

Your Open MRI Experience With Us

Advanced Foot and Ankle Center offers on-site MRI imaging so you can complete your scan in the same familiar setting as your office visit. Having imaging in the same location as your provider streamlines the diagnostic process and helps you get answers faster.

Our MRI machines are open machines. You do not have to lie in a tube. You comfortably sit in an attached chair and simply place your leg in the machine while the MRI takes its pictures. This design is especially helpful for patients who feel anxious in enclosed spaces.

We use industry-leading Extremity OPEN MRI machines to offer advanced imaging technology to our patients. Aside from being open machines, our machines are much quieter than traditional MRIs, making the experience more comfortable from start to finish.

The MRI process typically takes around one hour. All of our MRIs are read by a board-certified musculoskeletal MRI radiologist who provides a report within 24 hours. An appointment will then be made with your doctor to review the MRI findings and discuss the treatment plan that best fits your condition.