One of the key principles that all health professionals want to do is get the diagnosis of their client’s problem right. Until they get that right, then decisions as to the best treatment can not be made and advice given on the best course of action advised. Traditionally a diagnosis was based on the physical examination and a review of the history of the problem and limited imaging such as an x-ray. If a diagnosis could not be established from that information, then it became a matter of following the client to see how the symptoms develop and then the diagnosis may become clearer. These days in addition to the plain and simple x-ray we now have much more sophisticated imaging methods such as ultrasound which is making the diagnosis process so much easier. An episode of the podiatry livestream, PodChatLive was devoted to the issue of diagnostic ultrasound to help diagnose problems in the foot.
In this episode of PodChatLive the hosts had on Stuart Wildman to talk about his experiences with the use of diagnostic ultrasound. Stuart is a Physiotherapist, musculoskeletal Sonographer and Director of The Ultrasound Site Ltd in the United Kingdom. They talked about some of the politics and training regarding ultrasound use, just what the benefits and limitations of ultrasound are, and the tissues and pathologies that can be visualized around the foot and ankle with ultrasound. Stuart is the Owner and Director of The Ultrasound Site Ltd that he founded in 2013. He divides his time between Radiology and Physiotherapy where he performs both diagnostic and guided interventions in both settings. Stuart Wildman qualified from the University of Southampton in the UK in 2003 with a BSc in Physiotherapy, and went on to gain an MSc in Advanced Neuromusculoskeletal Physiotherapy at The University of Hertfordshire and a PG Cert in MSK Sonography at Canterbury and Christ Church University.
