Ultrasound Assisted Joint Injections

If you require a joint injection to lessen or resolve chronic joint pain, we want to ensure it is done in precisely the right location the first time!   Quince Orchard Medical Center offers the most precise joint injections with the  industry leading technique of guided ultrasound.

Ultrasound has many distinct advantages when used to assist with joint injections.

Knee: Ultrasound can help evaluate a variety of structures within the knee including the quadriceps and patellar tendons, the extra-articular (outside the joint) ligaments, and some meniscus injuries. It can also be used to see if there is fluid within the knee joint. Although knee injections are typically performed without imaging, imaging can be particularly helpful in patients with difficult anatomy or in overweight patients.

Hip: Hip joint injections may be performed for osteoarthritis of the hip and the diagnosis and management of labral tears. Imaging is nearly always used when performing injections into the hip joint due to the deep location of the joint and the proximity of blood vessels and nerves. It is estimated that blind injections are accurate 50% to 80% of the time. Ultrasound allows us to visualize the hip joint, bursa, muscles and tendons surrounding the hip. The use of ultrasound when performing a hip injection increases the accuracy to up to 96%. Whereas in the past, hip injections were mainly performed using Fluoroscopy (or continuous x-ray image), ultrasound- guided injections have become more popular due to its ease of use in the office setting and safety.

Shoulder: Studies have shown that Ultrasound of the shoulder is just as sensitive and specific as MRI in the diagnosis of rotator cuff injury. Ultrasound can facilitate the more accurate injection of multiple different structures in the shoulder including the Acromioclavicular (AC) joint, the Glenohumeral joint (the true shoulder joint), the biceps tendon, and the subacromial bursa. All of these can be injected with or without guidance, however, as noted above the accuracy of these injections is significantly improved with the use of ultrasound guidance.

In head-to-head studies, ultrasound-guided injections were universally found to be more accurate than landmark-guided injections. In a 2012 review, Berkoff et al examined 13 relevant studies, with ultrasonography used in 5 studies and the remaining studies using air arthrography, fluoroscopy, magnetic resonance arthrography, or magnetic resonance imaging. Accuracy was 95.8% with ultrasound guidance versus 77.8% without ultrasound guidance.

QOMC is proud and excited to offer our patients such an accurate and verified method of delivering joint pain relief.