Abstract
Musculoskeletal ultrasound in sports medicine has been gaining use over the past decade. On site ultrasound can serve to make a timely and accurate diagnosis and facilitate early treatment in youth athletes with upper extremity injuries. Musculoskeletal ultrasound offers a variety of benefits over other investigative diagnostic tools including the lack of ionizing radiation when evaluating young athletes, the ability to dynamically evaluate the athlete, rapid comparison imaging of the non-injured extremity, and the ease of portability. Ultrasound is useful in detecting subtle pathology of the more superficial structures including tendons and nerves. Dynamic evaluation of these structures allows for accurate assessment of instability or subluxation. The main disadvantages of ultrasound include the limited field of view, restriction of imaging related to bony barriers, and lack of resolution of deeper structures. This chapter aims to provide an overview of musculoskeletal ultrasound use of the upper extremity when evaluating and treating young injured athletes. Continued advancements in the field of musculoskeletal ultrasound are needed in order to integrate ultrasound use into the routine care of the young athlete with an injury to the upper extremity.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Singh JP. Shoulder ultrasound: what you need to know. Indian J Radiol Imaging. 2012;22(4):284–92. https://doi.org/10.4103/0971-3026.111481.
Hübner U, Schlicht W, Outzen S, Barthel M, Halsband H. Ultrasound in the diagnosis of fractures in children. Bone Jt J. 2000;82(8):1170–3.
Smith TO, Back T, Toms AP, Hing CB. Diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound for rotator cuff tears in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Radiol. 2011;66(11):1036–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crad.2011.05.007.
Shukla M, Keller R, Marshall N, et al. Ultrasound evaluation of the ulnar collateral ligament of the elbow: Which method is most reproducible? Skeletal Radiol. 2017;46(8):1081–5.
Cain EL, Dugas JR, Wolf RS, Andrews JR. Elbow injuries in throwing athletes: a current concepts review. Am J Sports Med. 2003;31(4):621–35. https://doi.org/10.1177/03635465030310042601.
The effect of physical characteristics and field position on… Clin J Sport Med. http://journals.lww.com/cjsportsmed/Abstract/2009/07000/The_Effect_of_Physical_Characteristics_and_Field.1.aspx. Accessed 19 Oct 2017.
Jacobson JA, Propeck T, Jamadar DA, Jebson PJL, Hayes CW. US of the anterior bundle of the ulnar collateral ligament: findings in five cadaver elbows with MR arthrographic and anatomic comparison—initial observations. Radiology. 2003;227(2):561–6. https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.2272020462.
Miller TT, Adler RS, Friedman L. Sonography of injury of the ulnar collateral ligament of the elbow—initial experience. Skelet Radiol. 2004;33(7):386–91. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-004-0788-4.
Nazarian LN, McShane JM, Ciccotti MG, O’Kane PL, Harwood MI. Dynamic US of the anterior band of the ulnar collateral ligament of the elbow in asymptomatic major league baseball pitchers. Radiology. 2003;227(1):149–54. https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.2271020288.
Ciccotti MG, Atanda A, Nazarian LN, Dodson CC, Holmes L, Cohen SB. Stress sonography of the ulnar collateral ligament of the elbow in professional baseball pitchers: a 10-year study. Am J Sports Med. 2014;42(3):544–51. https://doi.org/10.1177/0363546513516592.
The role of ultrasound in the evaluation of sports medicine injuries of the upper extremity. Clin Sports Med. http://www.sportsmed.theclinics.com/article/S0278-5919(06)00031-7/abstract. Accessed 19 Oct 2017.
Preseason assessment of radiographic abnormalities in elbows… JBJS. http://journals.lww.com/jbjsjournal/subjects/Sports%20Medicine/Abstract/2016/05040/Preseason_Assessment_of_Radiographic_Abnormalities.8.aspx. Accessed 19 Oct 2017.
Belli P, Costantini M, Mirk P, Leone A, Pastore G, Marano P. Sonographic diagnosis of distal biceps tendon rupture: a prospective study of 25 cases. J Ultrasound Med. 2001;20(6):587–95. https://doi.org/10.7863/jum.2001.20.6.587.
Connell D, Burke F, Coombes P, et al. Sonographic examination of lateral epicondylitis. Am J Roentgenol. 2001;176(3):777–82. https://doi.org/10.2214/ajr.176.3.1760777.
Lee KS, Rosas HG, Craig JG. Musculoskeletal ultrasound: elbow imaging and procedures. Semin Musculoskelet Radiol. 2010;14(04):449–60. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0030-1263260.
Levin D, Nazarian LN, Miller TT, et al. Lateral epicondylitis of the elbow: US findings. Radiology. 2005;237(1):230–4. https://doi.org/10.1148/radiol.2371040784.
Mishra AK, Skrepnik NV, Edwards SG, et al. Efficacy of platelet-rich plasma for chronic tennis elbow: a double-blind, prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial of 230 patients. Am J Sports Med. 2014;42(2):463–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/0363546513494359.
Mishra A, Woodall J, Vieira A. Treatment of tendon and muscle using platelet-rich plasma. Clin Sports Med. 2009;28(1):113–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csm.2008.08.007.
Mishra A, Pavelko T. Treatment of chronic elbow tendinosis with buffered platelet-rich plasma. Am J Sports Med. 2006;34(11):1774–8. https://doi.org/10.1177/0363546506288850.
Merolla G, Dellabiancia F, Ricci A, et al. Arthroscopic debridement versus platelet-rich plasma injection: a prospective, randomized, comparative study of chronic lateral epicondylitis with a nearly 2-year follow-up. Arthroscopy. 2017;33(7):1320–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arthro.2017.02.009.
O’Neill CJ. de Quervain’s Tenosynovits. In: Frontera WR, Silver JK, Rizzo TD, eds. Essentials of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 3rd Edition. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Health Sciences; 2014. p. 136–40.
Ashraf MO, Devadoss VG. Systematic review and meta-analysis on steroid injection therapy for de Quervain’s tenosynovitis in adults. Eur J Orthop Surg Traumatol. 2014;24(2):149–57. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00590-012-1164-z.
Teefey SA, Dahiya N, Middleton WD, Gelberman RH, Boyer MI. Ganglia of the hand and wrist: a sonographic analysis. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2008;191(3):716–20. https://doi.org/10.2214/AJR.07.3438.
Martinoli C, Bianchi S, Derchi LE. Ultrasonography of peripheral nerves. Semin Ultrasound CT MRI. 2000;21(3):205–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0887-2171(00)90043-X.
Cartwright MS, Hobson-Webb LD, Boon AJ, Alter KE, Hunt CH, Flores VH, et al. Evidence-based guideline: neuromuscular ultrasound for the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome. Muscle Nerve. 2012;46(2):287–93.
Melville D, Jacobson JA, Haase S, Brandon C, Brigido MK, Fessell D. Ultrasound of displaced ulnar collateral ligament tears of the thumb: the Stener lesion revisited. Skelet Radiol. 2013;42(5):667–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-012-1519-x.
Neri E, Barbi E, Rabach I, et al. Diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography for hand bony fractures in paediatric patients. Arch Dis Child. 2014;99(12):1087–90. https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2013-305678.
Munk B, Bolvig L, Krøner K, Christiansen T, Borris L, Boe S. Ultrasound for diagnosis of scaphoid fractures. J Hand Surg Br Eur. 2000;25(4):369–71. https://doi.org/10.1054/jhsb.2000.0432.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Stracciolini, A., Jackson, S.S., d’Hemecourt, P. (2019). Musculoskeletal Ultrasound in Treating and Preventing Upper Extremity Injuries in Young Athletes. In: Bauer, A., Bae, D. (eds) Upper Extremity Injuries in Young Athletes. Contemporary Pediatric and Adolescent Sports Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56651-1_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56651-1_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-56650-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-56651-1
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)