I’m sure many of you hear the word “ultrasound” and
correlate it with pregnancy and gynecology, but ultrasound is a very safe and useful tool podiatrists have to
visualize and diagnose the source of a patient’s pain. Let’s discuss some of the pros and cons of
ultrasound.
First and foremost, ultrasound is very safe to the
patient. Ultrasound is simply a machine
that sends out sound waves at a certain frequency, which then forms an image
from how the waves bounce back. Most
importantly, no radiation or tissue damage occurs from these sound waves. This is supported by multiple studies and its
long and continued use in visualizing babies in utero. This long history of safety has led to the
development of ultrasound machines specifically made to see bone, tendon, and
ligament.
Secondly, ultrasound gives a real-time image. X-rays, MRI, and CT scans are frozen
images. Ultrasound gives a “living image”
so that as the patient moves the foot, the image reflects that movement. This gives the doctor more information on how
the foot is functioning as it moves.
Without this insight, the doctor might miss the true source of the
pain. Ultrasound can be used to
visualize bone as well as soft tissue.
In addition, when giving an injection, the doctor can give it under the
guidance of ultrasound. This can help
the doctor insure that the medicine is being placed in the area of
inflammation.
Lastly, ultrasound is inexpensive and convenient. Ultrasound machines for foot and ankle
imaging are very small and can be moved from exam room to exam room very
easily. When compared to CT scans and
MRI, ultrasound is much cheaper and therefore, insurances are more likely to
cover the cost. Ultrasound does not
require a dye to be injected into your veins (often needed for CT scans),
neither does it require you to lie motionless (as is needed with MRI). All in all, is a very cost effective way to
diagnose foot and ankle conditions.
The main disadvantage to ultrasound is that it requires a
trained eye to both know the mechanics of the machine and to read the
ultrasound image. Only after much
experience can a technician consistently read an ultrasound accurately. Your podiatrist will be able to correctly
interpret your ultrasound.
Now that we have covered the ways to image the foot and
ankle in the office, we will discuss the more advanced imaging techniques of CT
scans and MRIs in our next posts.
