Diagnostic Ultrasound Scan

A GP or medical referral is not required, we provide quick access to a precision diagnosis that will help establish an effective treatment for your problem.

Only one appointment is required to provide you with a cost effective full musculoskeletal assessment of the presenting complaint, diagnostic ultrasound scan, injury treatment or management plan and full report, or, if required, an onward referral to your GP or Consultant.

What Happens During An Ultrasound Scan?

A small device called an ultrasound probe is used to produce high frequency sound waves. You can’t hear these soundwaves, but when they bounce and reflect off different parts of the body, they create “echoes” that are detected by the probe and converted into moving images of your muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves, and joints. These images are displayed on a screen that you can view, in real time during your scan.

Benefits Of An Ultrasound Scan

Ultrasound scans provide you with an accurate diagnosis of your problem and are advantageous in diagnosing sprains, strains, tears, trapped nerves, arthritis, and other musculoskeletal conditions.

The scan imaging is dynamic; both you and the probe can be positioned to view all angles around the problem area, unlike MRI and CT where you remain stationery and not all perspectives can be examined.

You can observe the images in real time and the clinician will explain his findings at your appointment, enabling you to fully understand your injury and make informed decisions regarding your treatment options.

Who Performs The Scan

Rich Rendle is an experienced orthopaedic practitioner physiotherapist with over 20 years of experience. He graduated in 2002, qualified as an independent prescriber in 2015 and completed graduate training in ultrasonography in 2016.

Rich now spends most of his time performing scans and guided injections in secondary and primary care settings. Rich has also set up an orthopaedic triage service in Exeter.

What Should I Expect During An Appointment

We will take a thorough history of your presenting condition, previous medical history and any prior treatments received for your current injury. A physical examination will be undertaken to assess the injury.

Please wear appropriate loose clothing to your appointment (a vest top or loose T shirt for upper limb issues and shorts or loose trousers for hip and lower limbs).

An ultrasound scan of the area will be performed, during we will talk you through the findings and discuss our recommendations for treatment. The images obtained are saved to your clinic records and the report will be e-mailed to you within a week.

Some of the treatments that may be recommend include:

An ultrasound guided steroid injection – we will advise you of the benefits and risks and if you decide to proceed, the injection can be given in the same appointment. If you prefer to have time to consider this option, you can always make an appointment for the guided injection later.
Continued physiotherapy – if a structural injury or target is not visualised on ultrasound suitable for an injection we will advise whether physiotherapy treatment is appropriate to continue with.
Other courses of action – if a more significant injury is identified, or if the injection is deemed unsuitable, you will be advised on other appropriate courses of action. This may include writing to your GP or insurance company, advising on further scans or an onward referral to Orthopaedics for a surgical opinion

How Long Will The Appointment Take?

45 minutes

What Are The Risks/Side Effects?

Ultrasound is considered a harmless method of imaging the body, it is safe, non-invasive and does not use radiation. There are no known side-effects.

How To Book

Ultrasound scans and guided injections cannot be booked online – please telephone us on 01752 664519 or enquire by e-mail.

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