Ultrasound
Ultrasound technology has many applications in medicine. Physical therapists, athletic trainers and others use therapeutic ultrasound to treat painful conditions, and to promote tissue healing.
Ultrasound technology at higher frequencies may be used to image internal organs and fetuses in a mother’s womb. When ultrasound is used for this purpose it is referred to a sonogram.
In musculoskeletal medicine, sonography is fast becoming a very useful imaging modality for both diagnostic and interventional purposes. Practitioners of musculoskeletal ultrasound can assess tendons, ligaments, nerves, bone and joints in the comfort of their clinic. There is no risk of ionizing radiation to the patient (as with x-ray and CT), and image quality and diagnostic accuracy is often as good if not better than traditional MRI images. Furthermore, providers can more easily deliver injected medications to the appropriate tissue targets with unbelievable accuracy and safety that often is not available with other image guidance techniques.
Figure 1: Practitioner Examining Shoulder with use of an Ultrasound
Figure 2: Shoulder Bursitis Viewed with Ultrasound
Figure 3: Injection of Rotator Cuff with Ultrasound
