Fascinated by Cartilage: Basics of Paediatric Musculoskeletal Ultrasound

Abstract

“Orthopaedics” is a Greek word derived from “orthos” meaning “straight” and “paedios” meaning “child”. Orthopaedics means “the technique of preventing and correcting physical deformities in children”. Due to the declining birthrate and aging population in Japan, there are fewer opportunities for outpatient examinations for paediatric musculoskeletal diseases, which were the origin of orthopaedics. As a result, missed or delayed diagnosis has become a problem. It is necessary to diagnose diseases that require early intervention at an appropriate time since children are still growing and developing. In conventional orthopaedic outpatient clinics, X-rays are the main diagnostic imaging tool, and the pathology is investigated based mainly on bones. However, the joints of growing children have a lot of cartilage, and it is necessary to use our imagination when reading X-rays. In recent years, the high image quality of ultrasound imaging systems has made it possible to observe the musculoskeletal components. Ultrasonography is especially useful in children because it is free of radiation exposure and can be performed without sedation even in younger children.