At Rehabilitation Medicine Center of New York, Dr. Jose Colon, MD uses the most current technologies in pain management, including pain-reducing joint injections. Some doctors use palpation or feel to guide the needle into a joint. Fluoroscopy, which is similar to real-time x-ray is preferred in certain types of injection therapies and is more accurate than the palpation method. Ultrasound-guided joint injections give Dr. Colon precise needle guidance but without the x-ray exposure using fluoroscopy.
About ultrasound
Ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to view a particular part of your body’s anatomy in real-time. A transducer is a rounded, smooth device that is moved over the body part. As the transducer is moved, it emits sound waves that bounce off hard and soft tissue creating images.
Ultrasound-guided imaging helps Dr. Colon to more precisely direct the needle into the ideal place for joint injections. Ultrasound can be used for needle guidance into shoulder and knee joints, wrists, and hands.
