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Lumbosacral spine x-ray

Show Alternative Names
X-ray - lumbosacral spine
X-ray - lower spine

A lumbosacral spine x-ray is a picture of the bones (vertebrae) in the lower part of the spine. This area includes the lumbar region and the sacrum, the area that connects the spine to the pelvis.

How the Test is Performed

The test is done in a hospital x-ray department or your health care provider's office by an x-ray technician. You will be asked to lie on the x-ray table in different positions. You may be asked to lean forward in flexion or lean back and extend your back. If the x-ray is being done to diagnose an injury, care will be taken to prevent further injury.

The x-ray machine will be placed over the lower part of your spine. You will be asked to hold your breath as the picture is taken so that the image will not be blurry. In most cases, 3 to 5 pictures are taken.

How to Prepare for the Test

Tell your provider if you are pregnant. Take off all jewelry.

How the Test will Feel

There is rarely any discomfort when having an x-ray, although the table may be cold.

Why the Test is Performed

Often, your provider will treat a person with low back pain for 4 to 8 weeks before ordering an x-ray.

The most common reason for lumbosacral spine x-ray is to look for the cause of low back pain that:

  • Occurs after an injury
  • Is severe
  • Does not go away after 4 to 8 weeks
  • Is present in an older person
  • Is present in a person with signs of nerve injury

What Abnormal Results Mean

Lumbosacral spine x-rays may show:

  • Abnormal curves of the spine
  • Abnormal wear on the cartilage and bones of the lower spine, such as bone spurs and narrowing of the joints between the vertebrae
  • Cancer (although cancer often cannot be seen on this type of x-ray)
  • Fractures
  • Signs of thinning bones (osteoporosis)
  • Spondylolisthesis, in which a bone (vertebra) in the lower part of the spine slips out of the proper position onto the bone below it

Though some of these findings may be seen on an x-ray, they are not always the cause of back pain.

Many problems in the spine cannot be diagnosed using a lumbosacral x-ray, including:

Risks

There is low radiation exposure. X-ray machines are checked often to make sure they are as safe as possible. Most experts feel that the risk is low compared with the benefits.

Pregnant women should not be exposed to radiation, if at all possible. Care should be taken before children receive x-rays.

Considerations

There are some back problems that an x-ray will not find. That is because they involve the muscles, nerves, and other soft tissues. A lumbosacral spine CT or lumbosacral spine MRI are better options for soft tissue problems.

Review Date: 4/1/2025

Reviewed By

Jason Levy, MD, FSIR, Northside Radiology Associates, Atlanta, GA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.

References

Contreras F, Perez J, Jose J. Imaging overview. In: Miller MD, Thompson SR, eds. DeLee, Drez, & Miller's Orthopaedic Sports Medicine. 5th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 7.

Kapoor G, Toms AP. Current status of imaging of the musculoskeletal system. In: Adam A, Dixon AK, Gillard JH, Schaefer-Prokop CM, eds. Grainger & Allison's Diagnostic Radiology. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Limited; 2021:chap 38.

Parizel PM, Van Thielen T, van den Hauwe L, Van Goethem JW. Degenerative disease of the spine. In: Adam A, Dixon AK, Gillard JH, Schaefer-Prokop CM, eds. Grainger & Allison's Diagnostic Radiology. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Limited; 2021:chap 48.

Warner WC, Sawyer JR. Scoliosis and kyphosis. In: Azar FM, Beaty JH, eds. Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. 14th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 44.

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The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability, timeliness, or correctness of any translations made by a third-party service of the information provided herein into any other language.

© 1997- A.D.A.M., a business unit of Ebix, Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.

All content on this site including text, images, graphics, audio, video, data, metadata, and compilations is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. You may view the content for personal, noncommercial use. Any other use requires prior written consent from Ebix. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, display, publish, reverse-engineer, adapt, modify, store beyond ordinary browser caching, index, mine, scrape, or create derivative works from this content. You may not use automated tools to access or extract content, including to create embeddings, vectors, datasets, or indexes for retrieval systems. Use of any content for training, fine-tuning, calibrating, testing, evaluating, or improving AI systems of any kind is prohibited without express written consent. This includes large language models, machine learning models, neural networks, generative systems, retrieval-augmented systems, and any software that ingests content to produce outputs. Any unauthorized use of the content including AI-related use is a violation of our rights and may result in legal action, damages, and statutory penalties to the fullest extent permitted by law. Ebix reserves the right to enforce its rights through legal, technological, and contractual measures.
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