MRI vs ultrasound

Sampb

The ultrasound is just form of therapy it is refered to as a modality in the medical field i believe. It is to help recuperate the muscle and or reduce pain in the area of application. This ultasound is not the same as the one a woman would recieve while pregnant.

Maybe I am way off base here but I think the ultrasound is just a form of shooting an Image. Here is a link that may help you out

MRI-Ultrasound link

Thanks for the responses, Maybe I din't ask the right way and I do appreciate the link..I know what an ultrasound is I just want to know what it will tell you that an MRI won't. Obviously the is a reason for the pain and we need to find out and will do whatever necessary but it seems like we won't learn anything new by it.

Sampb,

Sounds like the same thing my son had when he was senior in hs. Ended up with Vioxx and no throwing for 4 weeks to let the irritation/swelling causing the pain to go down. He still had full range of motion, but there was a "pinching" in his shoulder when pitching. After that 4 weeks rest , he threw a complete summer Legion schedule (went 7-0 in summer) Son said he was glad he took the time to recup rather than go out there 1/2 strength!

ultrasound has two meanings in medicine The first is the diagnostic imaging which is not appropriate for this injury. The second and what has been recommended is a form of physical therapy very akin to deep heat usually used for soft tissue trauma.

Justafan, you hit the nail on the head, didn't know there was 2 kinds, when I questioned my son further after reading your note he said yea it was a therapy with heat or something....any idea of a recovery time..he has had a few week oss without pitching but was tossing maybe he neeeds no throwing? Just glad it doesn't appear to be serious

PS justafan you have a pm

Wow, you learn something new every day!! I figured it must have been something I was un-aware of when you said the trainer was going to do it!!

Ultrasound therapy info:

http://www.aafp.org/afp/991101ap/tips/29.html

http://www.rydecitygunners.com/injury/ultrasound_therapy.html

BBwatcher, yes we do learn something new everyday, hopefully we will know a little more today as the trainer was out of town with the team and so he will see him and go over the docors stuff, wish I could wire my son with a tape recorder...

Voodoochile, thanks for the links...now all i got to do is get out my science book and see how large 5mm is my son says the sore spot is about the size of a quarter...

sampb

I did a lot of reading last year when my son had some shoulder pain. Just a FYI, I learned that MRI's are considered 80-85% accurate and that small tears of the cuff or labrum can be missed. Has more than one Dr read the MRI? I hope everything turns out well for your son.

ULTRASOUND is deep heating therapy--is absorbed deep (2-3") into the muscles. Not a diagnostic tool in this sense, but for assisting the healing process.

sampb,
5mm is about 1/5 of an inch if I'm doing the conversion right in my head. 2.54 cm = 1 inch, 5mm = 1/2 cm. I had ultrasound therapy for my hip when I was playing tennis in college 20+ years ago. It seemed to help.

http://www.******.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4236&highlight=Ultrasound

****** = s e t p r o (without the space between letters)

Thanks again for the replys he started the ultrasound therapy yesterday and we willsee how it goes, he is dissapointed in not playing, especially sice it happened when they gave him his first start and he had to come out cause the pain was so bad and he found himself trying to adjust for the pain but at least he was smart enough to know something was wrong and asked to be pulled. He is hoping to be back in the near future and given the number of people out on the pitching staff should he heal quickly he be getting innings and it sounds like they are letting him go on the road trip next weekend in hopes he may give them an inning or two,

Sampb,
Last year, my son had a moment on the mound when he felt a "pop" in his shoulder. He wasn't throwing, he was in the stretch, looking in for the sign when he felt it.

Went in to see a surgeon (shoulder guy who works with the Mariners and has done some work on Gil Meeche), had an MRI w/ die, no labrum tear, but did find a slight impingement problem and a slight tear to one of the rotator muscles (can't remember which).

He prescribed physical therapy twice a week for four weeks, and absolutely NO throwing, for six.

PT consisted of ultr-sound massage, stretching and strength training (with bands for both shoulders).

It seems to have worked, he's back too normal now, but he still does the band work every day.

That was last fall, so the no throwing part was easy. Wouldn't have been that easy if it happened in the spring.

All I can say is Good Luck! His pitching instructor traced the possible cause to a slight mechanical flaw (he was opening up a little too soon) and I now watch for that, and so does he. But it was so slight, that you could only see it on video.

Oh, by the way, Mike said that the ultra-sound hurt a little when they found the spot.