Musculoskeletal ultrasound clinic in Hertfordshire
Conditions we treat with ultrasound-guided injections
Joint, tendon and soft tissue pain across Hertfordshire, assessed with ultrasound before treatment is planned.
Book Your AssessmentAsk us anything before you book. There is no obligation.
How Sonoscope works
Assessment, imaging and treatment in one visit
Sonoscope treats joint, tendon, bursa and nerve problems in the peripheral joints using ultrasound-guided injections placed under real-time imaging. Rob Mast, an Advanced Practice Physiotherapist registered with the HCPC under PH47036, carries out your examination, diagnostic scan and injection in one visit in Hertfordshire, with no GP referral needed.
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Clinical assessment
Examination
Your examination is carried out by Rob Mast as part of the same clinic visit.
Meet Rob Mast -
Real-Time imaging
Diagnostic scan
A diagnostic ultrasound scan is used to assess joint, tendon, bursa and nerve problems.
View diagnostic scans -
Guided treatment
Ultrasound guided injection
The injection is placed under real-time ultrasound imaging during your appointment.
View guided injections
One visit covers all three steps
No GP referral is needed. Book directly and Rob Mast will examine, scan and treat you in the same Hertfordshire appointment.
Where is your pain?
Which conditions do we treat?
Most people arriving here want to know one thing: is my problem on the list? The more useful question is whether an injection is the right answer for it, and that is something we can only tell you after an examination and a scan. Below is what we see most often. Select an area on the body, or open any group.
Shoulder
- Frozen shoulder
- Rotator cuff impingement
- Rotator cuff tears
- Shoulder bursitis
- Shoulder osteoarthritis
- Glenohumeral and AC joint pain
- Shoulder instability
Elbow
- Tennis elbow
- Golfer's elbow
- Elbow osteoarthritis
- Biceps and triceps tendon pain
- Olecranon bursitis
Hand and wrist
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Trigger finger
- De Quervain's tenosynovitis
- Thumb (first CMC joint) osteoarthritis
- Wrist osteoarthritis
Hip
- Hip osteoarthritis and hip joint pain
- Trochanteric bursitis
- Gluteal tendinopathy
- Iliopsoas tendinopathy and bursitis
- Proximal hamstring tendinopathy
Knee
- Knee osteoarthritis
- Patellofemoral pain
- Patellar tendinopathy
- Iliotibial band (ITB) friction syndrome
- Baker's cyst
- Pre-patellar and infra-patellar bursitis
Foot and ankle
- Achilles tendinopathy
- Plantar fasciitis
- Morton's neuroma
- Ankle osteoarthritis
- Retrocalcaneal bursitis
Once we know what is causing your pain, Rob chooses the injection that suits it. The choice may be a steroid injection, hydrodistension, a hyaluronic acid injection, Arthrosamid or barbotage. Ask us even if your problem is not named above, because this list covers the common cases and not every one.
Unsure whether an injection is right for you?
Your appointment starts with an assessment and ultrasound scan before treatment is discussed.
Treatment boundaries
What do we not treat?
We treat peripheral joints, which means the joints of the arms and legs.
- Spinal and nerve root conditions.Spinal injections are outside what we do, and we do not treat sciatica or nerve root compression. Those procedures are carried out in hospital under X-ray guidance, because the target structures sit too deep for ultrasound to show reliably.
- Nerve blocks.Also outside our scope.
- Age limit.We do not inject anyone aged 16 or under.
Unsure whether your problem sits inside or outside that boundary? Get in touch and describe it. A short answer now saves you a wasted appointment.
Ask SonoscopeOne appointment
What happens in a single visit?
Your examination, diagnostic ultrasound scan and injection all happen in one appointment. No GP referral is needed first, and no separate scan, X-ray or MRI has to be arranged before you come.
That works because Rob is an independent prescriber of medicines. He can assess you, decide which medicine suits your condition and administer it inside the same appointment, without sending you elsewhere for a prescription. There is more detail on how ultrasound-guided injections work on our main injections page.
The all-inclusive fee starts at £250 and covers the consultation, the examination, the diagnostic scan and the injection, with no hidden extras. Other treatments cost more, and the full treatment costs are published.
From £250
Consultation, examination, diagnostic scan and injection included.
An injection is given only when the examination and scan show it is right for you.
Examination, real-time ultrasound imaging and treatment can take place in the same appointment.
Next step
Speak to the clinic
Still deciding what treatment you need?
Book an assessment to discuss your symptoms and whether ultrasound-guided treatment may be suitable.
Your clinician
Who carries out the injection?
Every injection at Sonoscope is performed by Rob Mast. He is an Advanced Practice Physiotherapist and musculoskeletal sonographer, registered with the HCPC under PH47036 and with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy under 054814. Both registers are public and you are welcome to check them.
Rob works as an interventional musculoskeletal sonographer in an NHS hospital radiology department. He is also an Honorary Lecturer at Brunel University on the CASE-accredited musculoskeletal ultrasound programme, and he has trained many hundreds of health professionals in diagnostic ultrasound and ultrasound-guided injection technique.
Registered practitioner
- HCPC
- PH47036
- CSP membership
- 054814
Rob Mast, Advanced Practice Physiotherapist and musculoskeletal sonographer.
Before you book
Common questions
Clear answers about accuracy, steroid injections, referrals and what happens on the day.
Are ultrasound-guided injections more accurate than injections done by feel?
For deep joints, yes, and the difference is large. One systematic review found hip injections placed under ultrasound were accurate 100 percent of the time, against 72 percent when placed by landmark alone. The hip cannot be felt from the surface and sits beside major nerves and blood vessels, which is why guidance matters so much there. For shallow targets such as the carpal tunnel, landmark accuracy is already close to 100 percent, so guidance adds less.
How long does a steroid injection last?
NICE guidance describes short-term relief of roughly 2 to 10 weeks. Some people get considerably longer and some get less. This is why a steroid injection is often used to create a window for rehabilitation, so you can do the exercises that build lasting change while the pain is quieter.
Do steroid injections damage the joint?
Evidence on this is mixed, and the concern applies more to frequent high-dose injections than to occasional ones. One two-year trial found that people given a knee injection every three months lost more cartilage than those given a dummy injection. Two large studies that tracked people over time found no faster progression of arthritis in those who had injections. Spacing is what matters, and there are published guidelines on how often a steroid injection should be given.
Do I need a GP referral?
No. You can book directly. Bring any previous scans or reports, because they help, but nothing is needed to get started.
Will I definitely get an injection on the day?
Not necessarily. An injection is given only when the examination and scan show it is the right step. Where the scan points to a different cause, Rob will tell you and explain what would help instead.
Is there an age limit?
Yes. We do not inject anyone aged 16 or under.
Honest clinical guidance
Not sure if an injection is right for you?
Booking an appointment does not commit you to an injection. Some people who come to Sonoscope leave without one, because the scan showed something an injection would not have helped. That is the point of examining and scanning before treating.
Tell us what is going on and we will tell you honestly whether we can help.
What you can expect
- No obligation
- Examination before treatment
- Scan-led decision
- Honest advice
Tell us what is going on.
There is no obligation, and we will say so if we are not the right clinic for you.