An x-ray is the plainest imaging name a Des Plaines reader will meet in foot and ankle paperwork. This page says what MedlinePlus lists for it and what it leaves to other scans.
What the x-ray is used to detect
MedlinePlus lists the purpose in one sentence: "The x-ray is used to detect fractures, dislocations, tumors, or degenerative conditions of the joint." Four findings are named, and they are the ones to hold the label to.
Why the list matters
All four items are conditions of the joint. A brochure that promises an x-ray will show more than that is making a claim the MedlinePlus entry does not make.
The scan with a different name
The names that get confused with it are the MRI labels. MedlinePlus has a separate entry titled Leg MRI scan, so the two are kept on separate pages. Read the entry for the one you were offered and not the other.
The ankle-specific paper
For the ankle joint and hindfoot, a research paper is titled MRI Evaluation of Traumatic and Non-traumatic Pathologies of the Ankle Joint and Hindfoot: A Single-Center Observational Study. It is framed around MRI and not x-ray, which is the distinction to keep in mind when reading it. The two sources also differ in who they speak to: the Leg MRI scan entry sits in the MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, while the paper reports on patients from a single center.
The question that decides it
Ask which condition the x-ray is meant to look for: a fracture, a dislocation, a tumor, or a degenerative change in the joint. If none of those is the question, ask what the request is aimed at before agreeing to the image.