When Your Job Is Physical - How MSK Ultrasound Can Help Police Officers and Firefighters

When the Job Takes a Toll on Your Body

For police officers and firefighters, physical activity isn’t something reserved for the gym. It’s part of the job.

A firefighter may be climbing stairs, pulling a heavy hose, carrying equipment, working overhead, or lifting someone to safety. A police officer may spend hours sitting in a patrol vehicle and then suddenly need to run, climb, lift, or respond physically within seconds.

Sometimes an injury happens in one identifiable moment. Other times, repetitive movements and years of physical demands gradually begin to take their toll.

Common Areas of Injury

Shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, ankles, and muscles can all be affected by physically demanding work.

MSK ultrasound can evaluate many conditions involving:

Tendons

Muscles

Ligaments

Nerves

Bursae

Joint fluid and inflammation

When the Injury Hurts During Movement

A shoulder may hurt only when reaching overhead. A knee may hurt while squatting or climbing stairs. An ankle may feel unstable during a particular movement.

That’s one of the important advantages of musculoskeletal ultrasound: real-time, dynamic imaging.

When appropriate, we can examine an area while the patient moves or reproduces the position that causes the symptoms. This may allow us to observe certain muscles, tendons, nerves, ligaments, and other structures as they function rather than only while the body is at rest.

For people whose jobs depend on movement, sometimes seeing what happens during that movement matters.

MSK ultrasound is safe, noninvasive, and uses no radiation.

Before He Ever Picks Up the Probe

At the Center for Musculoskeletal Ultrasound, every examination begins before the ultrasound probe is ever picked up.

We start by listening. What happened when the injury occurred? Was there one particular movement that caused the pain? Did it develop gradually? Which job-related activities make it worse? Can you reproduce the symptoms with a particular position or motion?

Michael Jablon, an expert in musculoskeletal ultrasound, begins with a focused history and a careful physical and positional examination, looking for the movements that reproduce your symptoms and the clues your body provides. This is referred to as the Jablon Protocol. Only then does he pick up the probe, using what he has learned to guide the ultrasound examination.

And when MSK ultrasound isn’t the appropriate examination—or another imaging study is needed—that matters too. The goal is to help determine what is causing the pain and what information may be needed next.

Ready to Get Answers?

If pain or an injury is making it difficult to do your job, a focused MSK ultrasound evaluation may help identify what's causing your symptoms.

Call the Center for Musculoskeletal Ultrasound at 949.229.7377

Orthopedic Ultrasound Inc.

Westlake Village, California