WAVELENGTHTUNE IN · GAIN CLARITY

Wavelength Academy · MSK

Soft tissue and joints: foreign bodies, tendons, the shoulder and the hip

Five musculoskeletal questions you answer at the bedside: is there a retained foreign body, is the tendon torn, has the Achilles or distal biceps ruptured, is the shoulder in, and is there fluid in the hip? Learn anisotropy, dynamic scanning, the shadows different materials cast, and the side-to-side comparison which settles most doubts.

  • 1.25 hours CPD
  • 5 lessons
  • 5 cases
  • 14-question assessment
  • Pass mark 80%
  • Free

Register free and start

What you will learn

  • Use probe angle and side-to-side comparison to avoid the commonest musculoskeletal artefacts
  • Find and map a retained foreign body, and recognise how wood, glass and metal appear
  • Separate a tendon tear from anisotropy
  • Diagnose Achilles and distal biceps ruptures by following the tendon to its insertion and adding movement
  • Confirm shoulder dislocation and reduction from a single posterior view
  • Recognise a hip effusion and the limits of ultrasound in suspected septic arthritis

Lessons

  1. Technique: angle, two planes, the other side8 min
  2. Foreign bodies: bright, then read the shadow12 min
  3. Tendons: tear or anisotropy?10 min
  4. Tendon ruptures: the Achilles and the distal biceps12 min
  5. The shoulder: one posterior view10 min
  6. The hip: compare the capsule12 min
  7. Cases8 min
  8. Final assessment: 14 questions, pass mark 80%8 min

Who it is for

Emergency, acute and urgent care doctors, advanced clinical practitioners, emergency nurse practitioners and physician associates who manage wounds, soft tissue injuries and joint problems.

Your certificate

Pass the assessment and we email your certificate as a PDF: your name, the module, 1.25 hours of CPD, the date and a code anyone can check at thewavelength.co.uk/elearning/verify. Upload it to your e-portfolio with a short reflection. Wavelength issues the certificate itself. It is not accredited by an external body, so record the hours as self-directed CPD under your own college or regulator's rules. The certificate records completed learning. Sign-off to scan independently stays with your department.

About this module

Author. Dr Firas Abou-Auda, Consultant in Emergency Medicine and Course Director, Wavelength.
Published. October 2026. Next review. October 2028.
Conflicts of interest. Dr Firas Abou-Auda is Course Director of Wavelength, which runs paid ultrasound courses.

References

  1. US of soft-tissue foreign bodies and associated complications with surgical correlation. RadioGraphics. 2001;21:1251.
  2. O'Driscoll SW, Goncalves LB, Dietz P. The hook test for distal biceps tendon avulsion. American Journal of Sports Medicine. 2007;35:1865-9.
  3. Hartgerink P, et al. Full- versus partial-thickness Achilles tendon tears: sonographic accuracy and characterization in 26 cases with surgical correlation. Radiology. 2001;220:406-12.
  4. American College of Emergency Physicians. Sonoguide: pediatric hip.
  5. Kocher MS, et al. Differentiating between septic arthritis and transient synovitis of the hip in children: an evidence-based clinical prediction algorithm. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American). 1999;81:1662-70.
  6. American College of Emergency Physicians. Ultrasound guidelines: emergency, point-of-care and clinical ultrasound guidelines in medicine. Annals of Emergency Medicine. 2023.
  7. Royal College of Emergency Medicine. Point-of-care ultrasound appendix to the RCEM curriculum.

Read the free Wavelength Pearl on this topic