Ultrasound-guided hand, wrist, and elbow injections

Abstract

Patients with pain, numbness, and weakness in the upper extremity are frequently referred to pain specialists. Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) combined with shoulder impingement can easily mimic cervical radiculopathy and disk herniation. Chronic pain at the thenar eminence following carpal tunnel surgery may stem from occult trigger thumb or carpometacarpal (CMC) joint arthritis. Median neuropathy at the wrist combined with impingement of the flexor pollicis longus (FPL) tendon on a fixation plate screw following fracture of the radius can mimic the pain, burning, and weakness of complex regional pain-syndrome (CRPS). These and other conditions of the hand, wrist, and elbow can be effectively diagnosed and treated with diagnostic ultrasonography and ultrasound-guided injections. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.