Gluteus medius tendinopathy is known to be a common, painful condition that may be caused by an injury to the tendons in the buttocks. Now a new study conducted at the University of Montreal’s Hospital Center reveals that ultrasound-guided cortisone injections could be an effective treatment method for this painful plight.
Causing severe hip pain, gluteus medius tendinopathy has been found to mostly affect middle-aged to elderly women and young active individuals. Medical treatment for the condition generally comprises of physiotherapy, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication and local injections of corticosteroids.
“The underlying causes remain unclear but probably are multi-factorial and involve mechanical and degenerative processes,†commented Etienne Cardinal, MD, lead author of the study.
The analysis involved 54 patients with gluteus medius tendinopathy. All these patients underwent urasound-guided cortisone injections.
“One month after treatment, 72 percent of the patients showed a clinically significant improvement in pain level. Seventy percent of patients were satisfied with the results of the intervention,†mentioned Cardinal.
“The use of ultrasound for guiding musculoskeletal procedures has increased over the past several years. Advantages of ultrasound over fluoroscopy include its soft-tissue imaging capabilities that allow a diagnostic study to be performed before cortisone injection,†he further added.
The author additionally reveals that this noninvasive, nonionizing imaging technique could allow the continuous monitoring of the needle position. Consequently this could facilitate the performance of safe and precise cortisone injections.
This study appears in the January issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.
