Musculoskeletal Ultrasound
In orthopedics, ultrasound is an excellent tool for diagnosing the cause of tendon, ligament, muscle, and joint pain. It can also be used to help guide an injection into the site of pain. It is completely noninvasive, painless, and safe. At Masri Sports Medicine & Wellness, Dr. Sammy Masri has received specialized training in the use of ultrasound both to diagnose orthopedic injuries and to guide the placement of therapeutic injections.
Diagnostic Ultrasound
Dr. Masri utilizes musculoskeletal ultrasound to help diagnose a number of orthopedic problems such as:
- Torn knee ligaments
- Torn meniscus
- Rotator cuff tear
- Shoulder impingement
- Frozen shoulder
- Biceps tendonitis
- Tennis and golfer’s elbow
- Ruptured Achilles tendon
- Plantar fasciitis
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Fractures
- Osteoarthritis
- Acute and chronic muscle tears
- Sprains
- Tendonitis and bursitis
- Soft tissue tumors
- Nerve compression
In many cases, diagnostic ultrasound can find problems that an MRI might miss, such as tiny tendon tears or micro fractures. One of the best features about musculoskeletal ultrasound is that it is produces real-time images, showing the structure of muscles, joints, tendons, and ligaments in motion. You can point to where you’re hurting and Dr. Masri can look at that exact area as you’re moving and experiencing the pain, which increases the accuracy of diagnosis.
Ultrasound-Guided Injections
Ultrasound is also helpful for administering medications. Using ultrasound to guide injections of cortisone,joint fluid (viscosupplementation), and platelet-rich plasma (PRP), Dr. Masri can inject the medication or platelets directly into the site of pain within joints, muscles, tendons, and ligaments. This high degree of accuracy improves the safety and effectiveness of the injection procedure.
Benefits of Musculoskeletal Ultrasound
Using ultrasound in orthopedics has a number of benefits:
- It is noninvasive and painless.
- It is completely safe; there is no radiation involved as in CT scans and X-rays and no magnetic field as in MRI. It is safe to use for pregnant patients and those with cardiac pacemakers or metal implants.
- Real-time images improve the accuracy of diagnosis.
- High resolution images show soft tissues and bone surfaces better than X-rays and tendon structure better than MRI.
- It can be used to both diagnose and treat injuries and conditions.
When you visit Masri Sports Medicine & Wellness in one of our three New Jersey offices, you will receive the most advanced, up-to-date diagnostic services available. Call today to schedule your appointment at the office nearest you: Franklin Lakes, (201) 809-9996; Paramus, (201) 261-0402; or Clifton, (973) 777-0934.