X-rays, or roentgenograms, are an important and useful tool for an Orthopedic surgeon, and may be acquired with comparison views of the uninjured limb to see what is normal for you. 

For example, when patients with shoulder bursitis or impingement are seen, the degree of downward sloping of the acromion bone-a thumb-like protuberence of the scapula which overlies the humeral head (ball-part of the ball-and-socket)-is important to study as prognosis and surgical treatment depend upon that bony architecture.