Ultrasound-guided Pain Management Injections

OVERVIEW
The application of ultrasound (US) in pain management is a rapidly 
growing field. Ultrasound-guided pain management uses live sound
wave images to guide a tiny needle and place medication directly into 
painful joints, muscles, or nerves. Musculoskeletal injections, 
peripheral nerve blocks, and neuraxial injections under US guidance 
have been acknowledged for managing chronic pain. 

How It Works 
Live images: A small tool called a transducer sends sound waves into 
your body to show a video screen of your inside tissues. This allows for; 
• Real-time targeting: The doctor watches the needle move on the 
screen. 
• Exact placement: Medicine goes right where it hurts instead of 
spreading through your whole body. 

Best Applications  
• Joint pain: Treating arthritis or swelling in hands/fingers, elbows, 
shoulders, knees, Ankles/toes, and hips. 
• Tendon issues: Healing tendinitis or small tears. 
• Nerve irritation: Calming compressed nerves as seen in carpal tunnel 
syndrome. 

Benefits 
The remarkable benefit of the US is the direct visualization of soft tissue 
structures, such as nerves, vessels, tendons, ligaments, muscles, and fascia. 
•  Using the US allows for dynamic examination of target structures to 
detect underlying causes of pain in certain cases 
• Real-time observation of needle insertion and spreading patterns of 
injectates also add to the benefits of using the US. 
• The absence of radiation exposure 
• Easy portability of most US devices 
• Relatively affordable cost compared to Fluoroscopy, CT, or MRI guided 
therapies.

 
Shortcomings 
There are a few shortcomings associated with US-guided techniques in pain 
management, such as: 
• Problem with examining deeper structures, particularly in a person with 
a high body mass index  
• Poor penetration through bone or air 
• Lack of prevention from intravascular injections.  
• Lastly, the US sometimes fails to count the exact spinal level in the 
presence of an anatomic variation (e.g., lumbarization or sacralization), 
which may result in incorrect diagnostic or prognostic spinal injection 

Note that the success rate of the US-guided procedures is significantly 
dependent on physicians' knowledge of sonoanatomy and technical 
skills. This is why it’s very important to have a well-trained physician in 
sonoanatomy and pain management as your provider when it comes to 
US guided pain management. At Xpedia Medical & Aesthetics Clinic, 
our physician has undergone training with certification in ultrasound
guided injections for pain management. Call our office at 702-930-6432, 
or make an appointment online today https://www.tebra.com/care/provider/kasey-abanonu-md-1609109644