For several decades, ultrasound examinations have been used as a modern and safe diagnostic method. Meanwhile, until recently, the procedure was carried out only for the study of internal organs. The reason is simple – liquid media very efficiently conduct sound waves; this statement does not apply to dense tissues of the body (in particular, to bone).
We have something to be proud of – a domestic researcher has created his own method of conducting ultrasound of the spine, which can replace MRI. There is no need to argue – the information content of magnetic resonance imaging is incomparably higher, but the availability of the latter in comparison with ultrasound is very low. It is worth noting here that the price of an ultrasound scan of the spine in the cervical or lumbar spine is at least three times lower than that for an MRI.
The main advantage of ultrasound of the spine is that there is no load of rays on the subject. This is so important that the method is used in the examination of infants and pregnant women, the elderly. A similar specificity of ultrasound is to give the opportunity to carry it out more than once or twice, depending on the indications, in order to monitor the results of treatment all the time, and to perform manual manipulations in real time. It turns out that the manual therapist who has mastered the technique of ultrasound examination has in his toolkit what allows him to accurately do only what is necessary in a particular case.
Ultrasound in the cervical spine is an opportunity to detect the causes of pathological changes – torticollis, displacement of the vertebral bodies, birth trauma and anomalies in newborns. The technique is extremely effective when a rotational dislocation of the 1st cervical vertebra is detected during childbirth, which leads to dangerous complications.
In the cervical spine, thanks to ultrasound, it is possible to reveal compression signs of cervical osteochondrosis, herniated discs between the vertebrae, very dangerous disc protrusions!
Also, in the process, other conditions and pains in the neck are possible – vertebral artery syndrome, accompanied by a shaky gait, dizziness, chronic circulatory failures, etc.
With compression changes in lumbar osteochondrosis of an acute or chronic nature, an ultrasound of the lumbosacral region should be performed. This is also true for pain in the hip joint, gluteal muscle, numbness and burning sensation in the extremities, and lumbago in the lower back.
It is obvious that ultrasound of the spine is an indispensable technique for regular monitoring after operations, also for tracking and measuring the increase in intervertebral hernia during treatment with carapazim.