• Fitness and Exercise
• Injury/Illness

Musculoskeletal Ultrasounds Provide a Look into Body’s Soft Tissue Workings

If your health care provider is trying to get a good look at how a certain set of muscles, tendons, ligaments, joints, and bones work together, a musculoskeletal ultrasound might be an option. Musculoskeletal ultrasounds provide quick, reliable, and cost effective diagnosis of acute and chronic muscle and joint injury.

This type of non-invasive medical imaging test can help doctors diagnose and treat conditions they might not otherwise be able to see, according to the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

Because ultrasound images are recorded in real-time – as opposed to the single image an X-ray, for example – they can show both the structure and the movement of soft tissue within the body, according to the RSNA.

Common orthopedic conditions musculoskeletal ultrasounds are used to diagnose, according to the RSNA, include:

• Early rheumatoid arthritis changes
• Ganglion cysts
• Inflammation or fluid in the bursae and joints
• Ligament sprains or tears
• Muscle tears or masses
• Nerve entrapments, such as carpal tunnel syndrome
• Tendon tears or tendonitis

Another use for musculoskeletal ultrasounds is to have a precise location for joint injections, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Traditionally, joint injections were placed based on using anatomical markers to help a physician decide where to insert the needle.

With musculoskeletal imaging, doctors know the exact location of where to inject medication for an effective result because they can see the injection site, according to the NIH.

For more information about musculoskeletal ultrasounds, talk with your sports medicine or orthopedic doctor or visit our Orthopedics page to find a physician.