Using the 1st MTP joint as an example, effusions and fractures can be quickly identified in the phalanges and their associated joints in the hands and feet.
for patients presenting with pain or swelling in their hands and feet bony integrity and joint diffusions can both be evaluated with a point of care ultrasound i'm using a linear scanner here with a high frequency on the msk setting and in this example i'm examining his first metatarsal phalangeal joint i'll place the transducer right over the joint space here identifying the edge of the bony cortex of his metatarsal and the phalanx i can identify the cartilage here around the head of the metatarsal and i would see a joint diffusion as black fluid coming between the two bones which i don't identify here i can scan further up the metatarsal all the way to its proximal aspect keeping the bony cortex in view and looking for any step-offs suggestive of a fracture but as we see in this healthy patient no obvious pathology is identified you
