Further Tests

Within Victory itself, we are able to offer:

Diagnostic Ultrasound: With machines similar to those used to scan unborn babies, Victory’s doctors and physiotherapists can examine muscle, ligament and tendon injuries in real time, showing the extent of the damage as well as looking at structural integrity and blood flow. While scanning, they will explain exactly what they are seeing in order to help you understand what is happening with your body.

Blood, urine and joint fluid tests: Our body fluids contain a wealth of information about our bodies and the way in which they are functioning at any one time. Some of the things blood tests can show are:

  • whether we are fighting an infection
  • whether there is inflammation within our body
  • whether our liver and kidneys are functioning properly
  • if we are taking certain forms of medication, how effectively it is working

Urine tests are carried out to show the presence of chemicals that should not be there, such as blood or protein.

Joint fluid tests are carried out to show the presence of chemicals that should not be there, such as inflammatory markers or uric acid. If a joint is particularly swollen, drawing off joint fluid can also be a massive relief.

Some tests definitely prove a diagnosis, one way or another, and other tests are less definitive and just help to build up the case for making a particular diagnosis or trying a particular treatment.

If one of Victory’s doctors takes a sample from you on site, this will be sent to the laboratory for testing and reporting. As soon as we receive the result, we will telephone you and invite you in to discuss it.

Compartment pressure studies: Compartment syndrome is a painful condition that occurs when pressure within the muscles builds up. This pressure can decrease blood flow, which prevents nourishment and oxygen from reaching nerve and muscle cells.

Chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS) is a relatively common condition in endurance athletes and military personnel. Diagnosis of CECS is via pressure testing: one of Victory’s doctors will insert a needle and then a catheter into the relevant compartment, and make you exercise. The catheter measures the pressure inside the compartment, and it if rises too high, the diagnosis of CECS is confirmed.

Mild or moderate cases may be treated with physiotherapy but for severe cases, the best treatment is surgical: a slit in the fibrous tissue releases the pressure, and this is followed by manual therapy, stretching and exercise to stop the compartment from tightening back up again.


Other tests:

Victory’s doctors can also refer you for tests that we do not carry out in-house. Our preferred provider is King Edward VII’s Hospital, Sister Agnes. In most cases, Victory will have your test results within 24 hours.

The tests include:

X-rays: Primarily useful for diagnosing fractures and bone diseases, X-rays are relatively quick and easy, and you can usually receive an X-ray without an appointment.

MRIs: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) involves you lying in a tube where magnets are used to take cross-sectional pictures of highly specific areas of your body, at 4mm intervals. These are most useful in diagnosing soft tissue injuries and also injuries to cartilage, which is found in joints and in the discs of the spine. You will need an appointment, and the scan itself will take approximately 30-45 minutes to perform.

CT scans: CT stands for Computerised Tomography. This involves you lying in a tube where X-ray technology and computers combine to produce 3D images of your bones. This gives a very clear view of complicated fractures, dislocations and severe ligament injuries, and is used when X-rays and MRIs do not give a clear enough picture.

Nuclear bone scans: A radioactive dye is injected into your bloodstream. 2-3 hours later, you lie in a tube where a gamma camera takes pictures of the dye moving around your body. This is repeated 2-3 hours later. The patterns and rate of movement of the dye shows up areas of high activity in your body. This is a very useful way of diagnosing bone stress syndromes such as “shin splints”.