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The Importance of Imaging Guidance for Advanced Injection Procedures

imaging guidance I recently attended the annual conference of the Interventional Orthopedics Foundation (IOF, Home - Interventional Orthopedics Foundation), which included two days of training in regenerative medicine, including stem cell procedures and bone marrow aspirate harvesting techniques for stem cells. The IOF promotes advanced techniques for advancing regenerative medicine. They are rigorously based in safe and effective techniques and promote outcomes-based research. One of the tenets of membership is that members must

  1. Attest that all injection procedures are performed under imaging guidance (fluoroscopy or ultrasound).

What does this mean and what is its significance? Regenerative medicine is a rapidly growing and accelerating field. Practitioners are doing all types of injections, often without any imaging. This is significant, because multiple research studies have shown that without imaging guidance, depending on the skill level of the practitioner (either fluoroscopy or ultrasound/here at Eastern Idaho Spine, Sports and Rehab we use both, sometimes in combination) the physician has up to a 50% miss rate! This means that even if your doc claims to be injecting PRP or stem cells into your knee joint, it might not even be reaching the target!!

I saw a patient last week who had 3 PRP injections done in his back without any imaging guidance, and got, not surprisingly, 0% relief. It is unclear where the PRP was injected and why. The patient is left with a hefty bill and a failure. If you are interested in this emerging field, please check out our website www.eastidspine.com for information on regenerative injections as well as ultrasound and fluoroscopy. We do all of our injections with imaging guidance to provide the best outcomes for our patients. Keep moving! Dr. V and staff at Eastern Idaho Spine, Sports and Rehab

About the author

Sarah Vlach