This work was supported by the General Scientific Research Project of Zhejiang Provincial Education Department, China (Grant No. Y202249231).

This study was approved by the ethical and scientific review board of our hospital. Written informed consent was obtained from the patient. All the treatment procedures were performed by personnel with 10 years of experience in musculoskeletal ultrasound intervention. The operator must have good knowledge of musculoskeletal anatomy. The ultrasound machine used here is mentioned in the Table of Materials and has a high-frequency probe.
1. Instrument setup and patient prep...

Ultrasound-Guided Needle Release Combined with Corticosteroid Injection

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In recent years, ultrasound has become a valuable tool for assessing peripheral nerve entrapments. Ultrasound can be used to observe nerves in real-time and provide dynamic visualization12. The obvious sonographic indicator of entrapment is the increased nerve CSA at the site of entrapment13,14. Other findings such as a hypoechoic texture, nerve flattening, and increased vascularity are also reported in entrapment neuropathy<sup class='xre...

The radial nerve (RN) splits into two main branches at the elbow level: the deep branch (DBRN) and the superficial branch (SBRN). The DBRN originates from the main trunk of the RN at the level of the lateral epicondyle of the humerus1. The DBRN curves around the neck of the radius and then goes through under the tendinous arch of the superficial edge of the supinator muscle, which is called the arcade of Frohse2. This anatomical site is the most common entrapment site of the DBRN at the forearm3,4. In some rare cases, the DBRN can be compressed from the entrance to the exit of supinator5. The entrapment of the DBRN can cause pain in the lateral-dorsal proximal forearm and weakness of the wrist extensor muscles6,7,8.
When a nerve is injured, nerve conduction studies (NCS) and electromyography (EMG) sometimes show abnormal results indicating that the nerve is damaged. Although EMG is an established method and provides functional information about nerve disease, it lacks the ability to detect anatomical and morphological information related to the nerve9. Besides that, the sensitivity and specificity of EMG are not very high at early stages of nerve injury. Ultrasound can easily detect peripheral nerves and show them in sonographic imaging. Many studies have reported the value of high-frequency ultrasound in diagnosing the entrapment of peripheral nerves5. It has great potential as a diagnostic method for finding peripheral nerves. Babaei-Ghazani et al. reported ultrasonographic values for the DBRN at the arcade of Frohse, and they concluded that age was associated with the cross-sectional area (CSA) of DBRN, while other features such as height or gender were not1. Some studies have reported that corticosteroid injections are effective in treating musculoskeletal diseases10,11. However, until now, there have been no reports on ultrasound-guided needle release plus a corticosteroid injection in the DBRN for treating adhesion. Here, we report a method that can separate the adhesion without open surgery. A male patient who had a dorsiflexion limitation in his left ring and little fingers was treated using this method. This patient had injured his left forearm 1 month prior to the treatment. Multiple muscles of the forearm (the extensor digitorum, extensor digiti minimi, and extensor carpi ulnaris) were sutured in another hospital. His DBRN had edema and was thickened, and the exit point of DBRN was deeply adhered to the surrounding tissue. After treatment using US-guided needle release and corticosteroid injection of the DBRN, the patient&#39;s dorsal extension of the ring and the little finger was normal when the joints of the fingers were fully straightened.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Betamethasone</td>
			<td>MSD Merck Sharp &#38; Dohme AG</td>
			<td>B7005-100MG</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Injection syringe</td>
			<td>Hangzhou Minsheng Pharmaceutical Co., LTD</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>5 mL and 10 mL</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Lidocaine</td>
			<td>Shanghai Zhaohui Pharmaceutical Co., LTD</td>
			<td>H41022244</td>
			<td>7 mL</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sodium chloride</td>
			<td>Hangzhou Minsheng Pharmaceutical Co., LTD</td>
			<td>http://www.mspharm.com/pro_list.asp?PageNumber=3&#38;info_kind=004001 
			&#38;d_add_date1=&#38;d_add_date2=&#38; 
			skind=&#38;p_keys=</td>
			<td>5 mL</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ultrasonic diagnostic system</td>
			<td>SIEMENS</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Type:ACUSON Sequoia</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

ultrasound-guided needle release combined with corticosteroid injection for the treatment of supinator syndrome

The two main branches of the radial nerve (RN) are the deep branch (DBRN) and the superficial branch (SBRN). The RN splits into two main branches at the elbow. The DBRN runs between the deep and shallow layers of the supinator. The DBRN can be easily compressed at the arcade of Frohse (AF) due to its anatomical features. This work focuses on a 42-year-old male patient who had injured his left forearm 1 month prior. Multiple muscles of the forearm (extensor digitorum, extensor digiti minimi, and extensor carpi ulnaris) were sutured in another hospital. After that, he had dorsiflexion limitations in his left ring and little fingers. The patient was reluctant to undergo another operation because he had undergone suture surgeries for multiple muscles 1 month prior. Ultrasound revealed that the deep branch of the radial nerve (DBRN) had edema and was thickened. The exit point of the DBRN had deeply adhered to the surrounding tissue. To relieve this, ultrasound-guided needle release plus a corticosteroid injection were performed on the DBRN. Nearly 3 months later, the dorsal extension in the patient's ring and little fingers was significantly improved (ring finger: &#8722;10&#176;, little finger: &#8722;15&#176;). Then, the same treatment was done for the second time. Nearly 1 month after that, the dorsal extension of the ring and the little finger was normal when the joints of the fingers were fully straightened. Ultrasound could evaluate the condition of the DBRN and its relationship with the surrounding tissues. Ultrasound-guided needle release combined with corticosteroid injection is an effective and safe treatment for DBRN adhesion.

Author Spotlight: Ultrasound-Guided Needle Release Combined with Corticosteroid Injection for the Treatment of Supinator Syndrome  

Ultrasound-Guided Needle Release Combined with Corticosteroid Injection for the Treatment of Supinator Syndrome

Our research, direction is for Corticosteroid ultrasound. So protocol showed our process of ultrasound data needed to be combined with a corticosteroid in injector trait several syndrome. With the help of realtime ultrasound guidance we can observe the syndrome and it surrounding.Teachers'article written and the safety compared with the conversation syndrome. The entire treatment is combinated with the supinator syndrome. The deep branch of the radial nerve can easily be compressed at the arcade of frost due to its anatomical features.Ultrasound-guided needle release combined with corticosteroid injection is infective and safe treatment for deep branch radio nerve at hassium. Ultrasound-guided needle release plus corticosteroid injection for treating the supinator syndrome provides smaller incision, less cost, less treatment time and faster recovery than open surgery. Ultrasound-guided needle release plus corticosteroid injection is better for clinical application.In the future. We will use ultrasound data, needle release, post corticosteroid injection in treated more peripheral neuropathy.

At 1 month after the treatment, the joints of the fingers were fully straightened, and the dorsal extension of the ring and little fingers was significantly improved upon fully straightening the fingers (ring finger: &#8722;15&#176;, little finger: &#8722;25&#176;). At 3 months after the treatment, the patient came back for re-examination of the DBRN. The range of DBRN adhesions, as assessed by ultrasound, was significantly reduced compared to before the treatment. The dorsal extension of the ring and little fingers was ...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Ultrasound-Guided Needle Release Combined with Corticosteroid Injection for the Treatment of Supinator Syndrome at JoVE.com

The deep branch of the radial nerve can easily be compressed at the arcade of Frohse due to its anatomical features. Ultrasound-guided needle release combined with corticosteroid injection is an effective and safe treatment for deep branch radial nerve adhesion.

The two main branches of the radial nerve (RN) are the deep branch (DBRN) and the superficial branch (SBRN). The RN splits into two main branches at the ...