The Benefits of Ultrasound-Guided Injections

Injection therapies play an important role in managing chronic pain, delivering medications and solutions to help reduce inflammation, relieve discomfort, and even improve joint lubrication. But to be effective, those injections need to be highly accurate, and delivered with a high degree of precision to ensure those solutions reach their targets.

As a leading pain management practice in Oxon Hill and Clinton, Maryland, and Washington, DC, Metro Spine PC uses ultrasound technology to ensure the most accurate delivery of medication injections for optimal symptom relief. In this post, learn how ultrasound-guided injections work and how they could benefit you.

Quick facts about ultrasound-guided injections

Ultrasound uses special soundwaves to create images of organs and other structures in your body. The soundwaves are transmitted painlessly through your skin via a special instrument called a transducer. 

When the waves encounter solid substances, they “reflect back” to the transducer, which captures the waves and transmits data to the ultrasound machine. The machine uses that data to create detailed images of bones, organs, and other structures. 

Ultrasound-guided injections are versatile and used to treat a variety of conditions, including: 

• Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
• Tendinitis
• Bursitis
• Gout
• Nerve compression
• Herniated discs
• Carpal tunnel syndrome
• Sciatica
• Plantar fasciitis
• Spinal conditions, like stenosis and disc disease

Ultrasound doesn’t use any radiation, which is why it’s widely used to monitor pregnancies, as well. 

For ultrasound-guided injections, our team uses ultrasound to visualize the area receiving the injection for optimal needle placement. We numb the injection sites first to help you stay comfortable throughout your treatment.

Benefits of ultrasound-guided injections

Certainly, one of the biggest benefits of ultrasound-guided injections is the accuracy and precision they provide. Without imaging, injections are administered “blindly,” decreasing accuracy. 

That doesn’t matter so much with vaccines or medicines delivered to large areas of muscle or directly to a vein that’s easily visible to your doctor. But for more complex injections intended to relieve pain or improve joint function, accuracy of delivery is paramount.

Better outcomes

With ultrasound guidance, our team can view the needle’s movement in real time, making adjustments to ensure optimal placement. That means we can also ensure medications are delivered right where they’re needed, so they can be as effective as possible. 

Precise medication delivery means better (and faster) pain relief for you, and it can also lead to faster recovery and a quicker return to the activities you enjoy.

Decreased soreness

It’s common to have some soreness following an injection. But ultrasound-guided injections may decrease soreness by optimizing the effects of the pain medication, ensuring they reach their intended target. Pain-relieving injections also decrease sensations in the tissues surrounding the injection site for less discomfort.

Enhanced safety

Finally, accurate needle placement reduces potential injury to surrounding tissues, nerves, and blood vessels. That means you have a lower risk of unintended issues that can lead to more discomfort following your treatment. 

Let us help you feel better

Injections play an important role in helping many people relieve pain and improve their mobility. With ultrasound-guided injections, our team provides fast, effective relief, so you can start feeling better as quickly as possible.

To learn more about ultrasound-guided injections and other pain management therapies, request an appointment online or over the phone with the team at Metro Spine PC today.