How to Read an MRI on the Right Shoulder

MRI imaging is helpful when trying to locate soft tissue injuries.

Reading an MRI on the right shoulder can lead to a diagnosis and treatment for a wide variety of injuries and afflictions. An MRI uses powerful magnets and radio waves to image the body in greater detail than X-rays. An image produced by an MRI contains high resolution information that can be viewed by anyone but often can only be understood by medical professionals. Reading an MRI without previous experience is possible. However, it is recommended that you let a medical professional view the information before you attempt any kind of treatment.

Things You'll Need

• MRI image
• Human anatomy reference material on the right shoulder

Instructions

1. Obtain human anatomy reference material on the right shoulder.

2. Study your reference material and learn how a healthy, normal functioning right shoulder should look. An MRI image of a normal right shoulder can be found online. MRI images let the viewer see almost every detail of the subject matter, including bones and soft tissue.

3. View the MRI image of the patient's shoulder. Look for obvious abnormalities which could include bone breaks or fractures, muscle tears and torn ligaments. Compare the MRI image of the right shoulder with a diagram of the right shoulder in your human anatomy reference material. If the MRI image is of your right shoulder, consider looking at areas of the image that correspond to areas of pain in your right shoulder. If the MRI image is of someone you can contact, ask them to indicate where they are experiencing pain in their right shoulder and focus on these areas.

4. Seek medical attention if you see any abnormalities.

References

• Medline Plus: Shoulder MRI scan
• America's North Shore Journal: MRI Pics-Right Shoulder

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• The Cheltenham Shoulder and Elbow Clinic: Normal Right Shoulder MRI Image