MSK-POCUS for Common Lower Extremity Conditions – Portland

This intermediate, hands-on workshop at University of Western States in Portland is part of the Musculoskeletal Point-of-Care Ultrasound (MSK-POCUS) certificate pathway offered by UWS with The Chicago School's Office of Continuing Education. It's built for clinicians who manage extremity complaints and want to use ultrasound at the point of care for the hip, knee, ankle, and foot.

Most of the 12 hours are spent scanning under supervision. Short didactic blocks set up each region, followed by scanning labs that use standardized protocols and image optimization. The course opens with ACR Appropriateness Criteria, covering when ultrasound beats radiography, MRI, or CT and where it falls short. Regional content covers gluteal tendinopathy, hip effusion, and dynamic snapping hip; the quadriceps and patellar tendons, collateral ligaments, meniscal bodies, Baker cysts, and knee effusion; hamstring, quadriceps, and calf injuries with strain classification; the Achilles and peroneal tendons, ATFL/CFL, syndesmosis, and dynamic ankle stress testing; and plantar fasciopathy, Morton neuroma, plantar plate injury, and tarsal tunnel syndrome. The weekend closes with trauma pearls, correlative imaging cases, and a competency assessment.

Instructors are Dr. Melinda Novak, DC, DACBR, RMSK, who teaches radiology at UWS, and Dr. Patrick Battaglia, DC, DACBR, a chiropractic radiologist with fellowship training in MSK ultrasound. Completing the asynchronous Foundations of MSK-POCUS course first is the suggested prerequisite.

Saturday, November 14, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM and Sunday, November 15, 8:00 AM–12:00 PM Pacific. The program offers 12 PACE CE hours when attended in full.

• •Perform systematic ultrasound examinations of the hip, knee, ankle, and foot
• •Identify common lower extremity tendon, muscle, and ligament pathology on ultrasound
• •Recognize sonographic findings of joint effusion and inflammatory conditions
• •Assess lower extremity muscle injuries and classify strain severity
• •Integrate ultrasound findings into evidence-informed patient management