Ultrasound-Guided Injections in Boston
Dr. McLaughlin has over a decade of experience providing ultrasound guided injections in his office.
Injections (cortisone, PRP, viscosupplementation) can help relieve pain and swelling by helping to reduce inflammation and swelling in a joint or around a tendon. The accuracy of these injections is important in their administration. Ultrasound machines have helped us improve this accuracy by allowing us to guide the injection needle to a more exact location under direct visualization. When a cortisone shot helps with pain relief, a person can often more easily engage in other methods of physical therapy or treatment needed to help the injury fully heal.
Ultrasound-guided images can help us more accurately administer a cortisone injection. We can use an ultrasound image to look at different muscles, tendons, and joints in the body. Those images can help us guide a needle directly to where we need it for an injection. Ultrasound pictures are created using sound waves at a high frequency.
They also do not use harmful ionizing radiation, meaning they allow us to see what we need to in order to treat you, without putting you in danger of radiation exposure.
Why would I benefit from an Ultrasound-Guided Injection?
An injection administered under ultrasound guidance offers a very specific way to administer the treatment or medication into a specific area. This level of accuracy can be important especially in cases where there are more painful or dangerous areas close by to the injection site. Ultrasound-guided injections can be used to treat a range of issues including arthritis, bursitis, tendonitis, joint and muscle pain, neck and back pain, sciatica, tendinopathy and more.
How are Ultrasound-Guided Injections Different from other Injections?
The picture from an ultrasound helps us guide a needle directly to where we need it to administer an injection. Ultrasound allows us to have a real time view of the area so we can give the medicine exactly where it will be most effective. This also means a higher likelihood your injection will have a more effective outcome.
What happens during this type of injection?
Ultrasound-guided injections are performed much in the same way as traditional injections. The ultrasound probe is place directly on your skin to view the joint into which the injection is planned. We use a monitor to pinpoint the site of the injection and it is given with the needle used in a traditional cortisone injection. These injections are done in our clinical offices during a normal patient visit and you do not need to be under anesthesia.
What are the benefits?
The ultrasound machine certainly helps us guide needle placement for injection accuracy without the use of X-ray. When the medication is injected more accurately, it has a better chance of providing the desired result of decreased result of decreased pain and inflammation.
