Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Course

Bromley Emergency Courses' Musculoskeletal (MSK) Ultrasound course is designed to improve skills in providing safe and accurate assessment of joint and soft tissue injuries and infections. Ultrasound is often more effective than X-rays for managing patients with strains, sprains, muscle tears, ligament and tendon disruption, fluid in joints, fractures and dislocations.

The course is designed for emergency doctors but is also useful for other clinicians such as physiotherapists, sports medicine physicians, and general practitioners working in minor injuries units.

The course covers the normal appearances of joint and soft tissues and how ultrasound settings and probe angulation affect imaging. It includes live demonstrations and practical sessions on:

• Fracture diagnosis and assessment of reduction
• Dislocation assessment and assessment of reduction
• Tendon and ligament disruption (Achilles' tendon, ankle injury, knee injury)
• Joint fluid assessment and aspiration
• Soft tissue infection diagnosis including cellulitis, abscess formation, and necrotising fasciitis assessment

By the end of the course, you will be able to use high-frequency probes for joint and soft tissue assessment, identify fractures on ultrasound, assess shoulder dislocations, evaluate important tendon structures, identify joint fluid and guide aspiration, and scan inflamed skin to identify cellulitis, abscess or necrotising fasciitis.

The course follows an alternating pattern of lectures with live demonstrations and practical sessions. You will practice scanning on live models and simulators with pathologies, using a range of ultrasound equipment including portable and handheld devices. Teaching is led by clinicians with extensive experience in managing musculoskeletal disorders in busy emergency departments and physiotherapy practice.