Technique
Ultrasound is a common medical procedure that uses safe and painless high-frequency sound waves to produce real time images. A hand-held probe is placed directly onto the skin coupled with gel on the skin surface for transmission of the sound waves.
The sound waves are reflected by the internal structures and the returning echoes create an image of the internal anatomy which can be viewed on the screen. Ultrasound does not use radiation and is safe in pregnancy.
Applications
Ultrasound produces excellent images of muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints and neurovascular structures. It is usually the first choice of investigation for evaluating lumps and bumps. Doppler ultrasound can be used to assess blood flow and quantify the degree of inflammation in joints and tendons.
Ultrasound also allows dynamic examination to assess the movement of muscles, tendons and other internal structures in real-time. Ultrasound is commonly used to guide precise needle placement in various interventional procedures including the following:
- Diagnostic and therapeutic joint injections
- Subacromial bursal injection for shoulder impingement or tendinopathy
- Hydrodilatation for frozen shoulder
- Barbotage and lavage for calcium deposition
- Hip injection for trochanteric bursitis
- Aspiration of ganglia and cysts
- Perineural and carpal tunnel injections
- Morton’s neuroma injection
- Plantar fascia injection and needling for plantar fasciitis
- Percutaneous trigger finger release
- Tendon sheath injections
- Tendon treatments such as:
- Dry needle therapy
- Autologous blood injection
- Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) injection
- High volume tendon stripping
- Soft tissue biopsy
Patient information
Our expert radiologists will be able to discuss the ultrasound findings and whether to proceed with an ultrasound guided injection with the patient once the diagnostic scan is complete. The procedure usually takes 20-30 minutes.
