Mornington Foot Clinic now has in-rooms diagnostic ultrasound to aid in the diagnosis of pain and injury in the foot/ankle. Ultrasound is quick, cheap and non-invasive way of viewing structures in the foot/ankle and can give both patient and practitioner valuable information to help guide treatment options.
by Tom McKenzie
16th September 2019
What is diagnostic ultrasound?
Diagnostic ultrasound is a means by which we can image structures in the foot and ankle. Ultrasound is best suited to looking at soft tissue structures including tendon, ligament and fascia but can also aid in the assessment of joint and bone pathology. Ultrasound uses high frequency sound waves that reflect off
the structures in the body to provide an image on the screen. Unlike xray and CT scans, ultrasound contains no ionising radiation and has been shown to be completely harmless to human tissue.
What are the benefits of diagnostic ultrasound?
With the use of ultrasound our podiatrists can quickly assess for pathology
in the foot/ankle and use this information to help guide treatment options.
The process can take as little as 5 minutes and is a cheap and non-invasive
way of giving the podiatrist and patient extra valuable information to be used
in conjunction with the clinical findings. Ultrasound also provides a means
by which the podiatrist can guide interventions including local anaesthetic
and corticosteroid injections when indicated.
What structures can ultrasound assess?
As mentioned earlier, ultrasound is best used to view soft tissue structures.
The most common structures that are imaged using ultrasound include the
plantar fascia, achilles tendon, tibialis posterior tendon and peroneal tendons. Ultrasound can also help identify forefoot pathology including morton’s neuroma/neuritis, intermetatarsal bursitis and plantar plate tears (pain under the front of the foot).
How much does it cost?
There is currently no extra charge for use of the ultrasound during an appointment. If an injection is required then there may be a small consumables charge to cover the cost of the local anaesthetic or corticosteroid.
If you feel like a diagnostic ultrasound assessment may be of value to you, please contact the clinic to chat with one of our podiatrists or to make an appointment.
Ultrasound image of a plantar fascia
