Musculoskeletal Ultrasound: Powerful and Cost Effective
Ultrasound has been used in medicine for over 50 years. Most people are familiar with the use of ultrasound in a pregnant woman. But, you might be surprised when Dr. Jason Browdy, an orthopedic surgeon, offers you an ultrasound of your shoulder. Ultrasound imaging of the musculoskeletal system is a very powerful, cost-effective way to diagnose and treat a large variety of conditions.
Ultrasound, or sonography, relies on sound waves that are created by an ultrasound probe. As the sound travels through tissue, it is either absorbed or reflected back to the probe. When the probe receives the acoustic signal, a computer turns the returned signal into an image on a screen. Modern ultrasound devices allow for real-time imaging of tissues and can even detect blood flow and the specific direction of blood flow.
Ultrasound is non-invasive and does not cause any known harmful effects. There are many significant benefits of musculoskeletal ultrasound:
- With ultrasound, there is no ionizing radiation. So, it can be repeated numerous times if necessary, without concerns about side effects.
- Diagnostic ultrasound is non-invasive and painless.Ultrasound is excellent for evaluation of soft tissues that cannot be seen well on plain X-rays.
- Ultrasound is a very cost-effective alternative to MRI. It can be done very quickly in the office, without the need to pre-certify the study or make another appointment.
- Ultrasound is dynamic, allowing physicians to literally watch muscles and tendons move. This is very powerful and is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to achieve on most MRI machines.
- Ultrasound is a safe alternative for those with pacemakers or patients who are claustrophobic.
- Ultrasound is an excellent tool for guiding needle placement during needle aspirations or injections.
- With ultrasound, a physician can see real-time blood flow. This important anatomic information can help make needle placement safe.
Dr. Browdy is currently using ultrasound for both diagnostic purposes as well as needle placement. Ultrasound guided needle placement is particularly useful in performing platelet-rich plasma, or PRP injections.
In PRP therapy, a physician is attempting to create a highly isolated and controlled inflammatory response by stimulating the tissue with a needle and delivering platelets, with their powerful healing potential, directly to this sight of injury. Ultrasound allows the physician to visualize the abnormal tissue and delivery the platelets in a precise way directly into this tissue. An excellent example of this is shown above.
Common uses of musculoskeletal ultrasound include:
- Evaluation of tendon tears, such as the rotator cuff or achilles tendon
- Evaluation of muscle tears
- Imaging soft tissue masses
- Evaluation of bleeding and/or fluid collections in muscles, bursae or joints
- Imaging bone or cartilage surfaces
- Precise needle guidance
- Charting the progression of healing tissue such as the rotator cuff after surgery or during the course of non-operative treatment
