Interventional musculoskeletal radiology

Interventional procedures constitute a significant proportion of musculoskeletal radiology. Percutaneous needle biopsy is the ultimate diagnostic technique for the evaluation of musculoskeletal neoplasms and infections. The procedure is accurate, rapid, and safe. It is ideally suited for the diagnosis of metastatic disease and round cell neoplasms. Several needle procedures have been used for the diagnosis and treatment of low back pain. Diskography is primarily a diagnostic test used to determine the symptomatic disk level when multilevel disk disease is present and also to diagnose internal disk disruption. Nerve block with local anesthetic is also used to locate the symptomatic level in patients with multilevel abnormalities. Epidural steroid injection is a therapeutic procedure that commonly is used in patients with low back pain and has been shown to be most effective in patients with disk herniation. Facet joint injection with local anesthetic and steroid is performed to diagnose and treat the facet syndrome. Other needle procedures in the musculoskeletal system include sacroiliac joint aspiration and injection, prosthetic joint aspiration to evaluate potential infection, distention arthrography, and injections of the coccyx for coccydynia.