Kudos to SonoSite for hosting an outstanding webinar this weekend on musculoskeletal ultrasound, Diagnostic Shoulder Ultrasound, Part 2, featuring Dr. Antonio Bouffard.  Dr. Bouffard is a senior staff radiologist in the division of musculoskeletal imaging at Henry Ford Hospital and is a consultant to NASA, the US Olympic Committee, and has also begun work with the PGA.   

Dr. Bouffard's talk focused on the posterior structures of the shoulder including the infraspinatus, the posterior labrum, the teres minor, the spinoglenoid notch and the suprascapular nerve.  

I also had a chance to review Part 1 with Dr. Ben DuBois, focusing on the anterior and lateral shoulder structures and pathology.  This included the long head of the biceps tendon, the subacromial bursa, the supraspinatus tendon, as well as the subscapularis tendon and bursa.  

Both presentations were incredibly informative and the knowlege gained will certainly enhance my in-clinic diagnostic and ultrasound-guided injection skills.

I recently attended a comprehensive course to learn how to utilize ultrasound to diagnose injuries and pathology in my patients.  Additionally, I learned how to use ultrasound to guide injections and aspirations (removal of fluid) into difficult-to-access joints such as the hip.  It was a tremendous experience and I am excited to leverage this technology to help my patients.  Ultrasound is safe (no radiation), dynamic (it shows how things move and work), and real time (no delay in having the study performed, no need to wait to schedule an MRI -- we will do it in clinic during the office visit!).  Studies show that ultrasound can be as accurate, if not more so, in the diagnosis of certain conditions such as rotator cuff tears and that ultrasound guidance significantly improves the accuracy of and significantly diminishes the pain associated with in-office orthopaedic procedures.