Ultrasound-Guided Lateral and Medial epicondylitis

Lateral epicondylitis or “Tennis elbow” is a painful condition that occurs when tendons in the elbow are overloaded, usually by repetitive motions of the wrist and arm. The pain of the tennis elbow occurs primarily where the tendons of the forearm muscles attach to a bony bump on the outside of your elbow.

While Medial epicondylitis (golfer’s elbow) is a type of tendinitis that affects the inside of the elbow. It develops where tendons in the forearm muscle connect to the bony part on the inside of the elbow.

Tendons can become bloated and uncomfortable due to injury or discomfort. Although medical epicondylitis is known as elbow golfer, it does not affect golfers alone. It may come with activities such as tennis and baseball that include the use of arms or wrists.

Tennis elbow and golfer’s elbow are both caused by overuse of forceful squeezing and raising. Sports other than golf and tennis, as well as work-related tasks that include intensive use of the wrist and forearm muscles, may induce the disorder (such as the movements of plumbers, painters, carpenters, and butchers).

In contrast to other radiologic modalities, ultrasound has the benefits of offering high-resolution photographs of the soft tissues, the absence of radiation sensitivity, easy accessibility, low cost, and comparatively easy dynamic examinations.

Which Ultrasound Scanner is the best for the evaluation of Lateral and Medial epicondylitis?

A high-frequency linear transducer is particularly useful for evaluating and treating lateral and medial epicondylitis. For our orthopaedics, rheumatologists, and physical therapists, our medical research and development team always recommends either the Wireless Color Doppler Linear Ultrasound Scanner L2CD or the Mini Linear Handheld WiFi Ultrasound Scanner MLCD

L2CD is a compact handheld scanner filled with high-end technology. This improves your physical examination and strengthens your professional confidence. It helps to distinguish potential etiologies and alleviate symptoms through aspiration of cystic lesions or effusion within the elbow joint.

Most importantly, to prevent any damage to the surrounding neuro-vascular tissues, the tip of the needle should be seen closely during the operation. So real-time ultrasound supervision is really needed.

Whereas MLCD  comes with a needle guide holder. Also, it gives real-time information regarding anatomy and blood vessel location to guide needle placement. 

It provides real-time injection guidance to stop injecting the corticosteroid directly into the tendon material or subcutaneous tissue, which may result in subcutaneous fatty atrophy and skin depigmentation.

Ultrasonography is a good way to evaluate the lesions of elbows and to direct therapeutic and diagnostic treatments. In fact, Ultrasound Scanner is useful to guide surgical procedures including local injections and minimum invasive operations because it enables soft tissue to be observed in multi-planed and real-time.

References: Lateral and Medial epicondylitis, Lateral and medial epicondylitis of the elbow, Application of Ultrasound and Ultrasound-Guided Intervention for Evaluating Elbow Joint Pathologies, Medial epicondylitis

Disclaimer: Although the information we provide is used by different doctors and medical staff to perform their procedures and clinical applications, the information contained in this article is for consideration only. SONOSIF is not responsible neither for the misuse of the device nor for the wrong or random generalizability of the device in all clinical applications or procedures mentioned in our articles. Users must have the proper training and skills to perform the procedure with each ultrasound scanner device.

The products mentioned in this article are only for sale to medical staff (doctors, nurses, certified practitioners, etc.) or to private users assisted by or under the supervision of a medical professional.