What is the area examined by musculoskeletal ultrasound?
Disease description:
Recently, I have been experiencing arm pain, especially during movement. I'm not sure whether the problem is related to the muscles or bones. I heard about a musculoskeletal ultrasound examination—can this exam determine the cause of my arm pain? Which specific areas can it examine?
Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Chen Jian
Musculoskeletal ultrasound is a non-invasive, radiation-free imaging technique. The areas examined by musculoskeletal ultrasound include:
1. Neck muscles: including the platysma, trapezius, andlevator scapulae muscles, which play important roles in maintaining head movement and posture.
2. Shoulder muscles: such as the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres major, and teres minor muscles, which are crucial for shoulder joint mobility. Musculoskeletal ultrasound can assess the morphology, structure, and functional status of the shoulder muscles, as well as detect any hypertrophy, atrophy, or injuries.
3. Back muscles: including the latissimus dorsi and erector spinae muscles, which are vital for protecting the spine and maintaining body posture. Ultrasound examination can observe the morphology and structure of the back muscles and detect abnormalities such as scoliosis.
4. Elbow: ultrasound can be used to examine the long head of the biceps tendon, ulnar collateral ligament, radial collateral ligament, and soft tissue injuries around the elbow joint.
5. Wrist and hand: ultrasound can detect conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, tenosynovitis, wrist joint injuries, and problems with finger tendons and ligaments.
6. Hip: suitable for examining the femoral head, hip joint capsule, hip muscles, and tendons.
7. Knee: ultrasound can assess the anterior cruciate ligament, posterior cruciate ligament, medial and lateral collateral ligaments, patellar tendon, meniscus, and surrounding structures of the knee joint.
8. Soft tissues: in addition to muscles and joints, musculoskeletal ultrasound can also evaluate the structure and function of soft tissues such as tendons, ligaments, and bursae.
