Ultrasound Imaging

Most people are familiar with ultrasound – also known as ultrasonography – as a diagnostic tool used in obstetrics on pregnant patients. However, it is also a useful part of sports medicine that has many different diagnostic and treatment applications.

Ultrasound involves the use of sound waves that are emitted from a transmitter and then sent back to a receiver after bouncing off of structures inside the body to create an image displayed on a screen. This enables the ultrasound operator to distinguish between bone, fluid, soft tissues (such as tendons, muscles, or nerves), and other structures. The ultrasound devices used in medical clinics have a small, handheld probe that houses both the transmitter and the receiver.

In sports medicine, ultrasound imaging facilitates the evaluation of various injured musculoskeletal structures, such as a torn Achilles tendon or calf muscle, for example. Ultrasound can also be used to search for fluid around or within a structure, such as most muscles, tendons, and bursa, indicating inflammation, tendonitis, or bursitis, for example.

A sports medicine specialist is also able to monitor a structure as it progresses through a range of motion and evaluate a patient for fractures and stress fractures of various bones.

Ultrasound also can be used in nonsurgical procedures. For example, it can allow direct visualization of a target structure undergoing injection therapy. Likewise, the needle can be visualized to ensure that it is directed into the target and that the injected medicine is placed directly into the painful area.

Among the other advantages of ultrasound imaging is that it easily accessible, affordable, and highly accurate when operated by trained personnel. It is also perfectly safe with no risk of radiation or the need for injected contrast materials, as with other imaging devices.

Sports Medicine Ultrasound Imagining in Dallas, Texas

Ultrasound imaging is just one of the many advanced technologies utilized at Reagan Integrated Sports Medicine to diagnose and treat sport injuries and chronic orthopedic conditions.

To take advantage of our outstanding therapeutic services, call us at (972) 503-7272 to arrange a consultation with one of our highly skilled and experienced chiropractic and sports medicine specialists. Or, you can schedule your appointment using our convenient Request an Appointment form.