In today's busy world...

I have spent the past 25 years helping patients by surgery and our therapy program to heal from carpal tunnel, repetitive strain injury as well as from pain from nerve injuries. I have reattached entirely amputated arms, hands and fingers, moved and reconnected nerves in patients with severe pain from nerve injury and helped literally thousands of people return to normal lives after severe injuries to their bodies.

BUT early in my career I found that it was not usually the dramatic operation or the miracle medication that healed them…..

"I discovered that my patients healed optimally in a quieter, more passive and pain-free way than just through surgery-- and in many cases actually avoided surgery. This healing process involved the patient using his or her own belief, much like prayer and the power of positive thinking, but turned inward! Through approaching the pain with a different outlook-- being involved with a sense of control of their own healing, understanding that every human being is born with the same innate power to heal - given us as birthright, they healed. Further, through the help of our therapists they learned self-help techniques, such as massage, life activity modification and how to eat and exercise better; even how to move and sit differently. We custom made splints and supports, to rest their injured nerves, tendons and joints in exactly the right position for them to heal. Through these incremental and combined measures, I saw tremendous healing take place.

The Upper Extremity Institute

was founded on the premise that conservative care works for problems in the upper extremity including orthopaedic, nerve, tendon, vascular or circulatory, neck and wrist and hand problems. It's our belief that each treatment program must be tailored to that individual patient's needs.

A NEW STATE OF THE ART PROCEDURE AT THE UPPER EXTREMITY INSTITUTE – MUSCULOSKELATAL ULTRASOUND

What if there was a way to look inside the body without having to make an incision.
No complications.
No pain.
And evaluate muscles, ligaments, joints, nerves, and blood vessels
And see how they move, stretch and function
And identify injury, inflammation, scar, and arthritis……
Well we can!

It is called Musculoskeletal Ultrasound

I would like to introduce you to a new and exciting diagnostic tool we are using here at The Upper Extremity Institute. You may be familiar with ultrasound from looking at babies at the doctor’s office. Well, this is similar, but now the clarity on the scans is such that we can actually see the nerves, muscles, joints and ligaments LIVE and in great detail. It is a study, which can be invaluable in allowing us to successfully identify problems and often avoid surgery. Many times ultrasonically guided injection and/or clinically directed therapy, can result in successful treatment and alleviation of symptoms and pathology.

Musculoskeletal Ultrasound is a well-accepted treatment and diagnostic tool in the radiology and orthopedic community for the treatment and diagnosis of orthopaedic and musculoskeletal injury.

Orthopedic Neuromusculoskelatal Ultrasound is a diagnostic, sometimes-therapeutic technique utilized to evaluate pathology of muscles, nerves, tendons, ligaments and joints. Orthopedic muscle ultrasound allows us to visualize these structures in a noninvasive manner to evaluate the possibility of pathology. This technique is not greatly different than radiographs, MRI scans and other radiology imaging techniques. It does though, like surgical arthroscopy, allow us to evaluate dynamic living moving musculoskeletal pathology but without the need for surgery! In addition, muscle ultrasound also allows us to look at nerves and actually see them live as the tissues around them move and how they are affected by scar around them, tendinitis such as in carpal tunnel and compression at the neck and arm as they run through muscle.

The technique is performed utilizing a probe, which emits ultrasonic waves, which then gives us visual pictures of the structures they are aimed through. The movement of the muscle or joint, ligament or tendon, paths of blood vessels and nerves can all be assessed in a real-time fashion. This allows the surgeon to more readily evaluate pathology, observing how the tissues and structures change with movement.

It is a study, which can be invaluable in allowing us to successfully identify problems and often avoid surgery. Many times ultrasonically guided injection and/or clinically directed therapy, can result in successful treatment and alleviation of symptoms and pathology. It also allows us to identify early on pathology that does require more aggressive treatment to avoid progression.

This is especially helpful in rotator cuff injury, carpal tunnel, radial and ulnar nerve injury and brachial plexus (thoracic outlet) injuries. Ligament and tendon inflammation issues, cysts and tennis elbow problems are also well identified at the shoulder, elbow wrist and hand. The muscles, nerves tendon and ligament structures can easily be visualized and static as well as motion images give real time pictures of the actual tissues.

• OBJECTIVELY DOCUMENTS ORTHOPAEDIC INJURY
• DIAGNOSE ROTATOR CUFF, CARPAL TUNNEL, BRACHIAL PLEXUS, JOINT AND TENDON INJURY WITH LIVE MOTION STUDY
• LESS EXPENSIVE AND FASTER THAN MRI
• PAIN FREE EXAMINATION WITH NO CLAUSTROPHOBIA OR NEEDLES
• IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK AND PATIENT EDUCATION OF INJURY
• GUIDED AND DIRECTED THERAPY AND INJECTIONS UNDER ULTRASOUNIC GUIDANCE FOR MORE PREDICTABLE RELIEF
• PAIN FREE PROCEDURE

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