Trauma

X-ray is widely used in order to rule out fractures and misalignments after trauma. X-ray is in many ways still the best examination to perform to rule out or characterise fractures of the vertebral column. NM is also well suited and is particularly sensitive for the detection of stress fractures. CT is often used in "problem-areas", like parts of the cervical region, or to determine if a fracture is affecting the spinal canal.

MRI can tell a lot about the status of neural tissue (bleeding, laceration) which the other modalities can not.