ESONOGRAPHIC IMAGING MODALITIES AND THEIR CORRESPONDING DIFFICULTIESAccording to the CDC, among adults over the age of 20, 69.2% are overweight and 35.9% are overweight. % are overweight (2010). As the average weight of adult patients in general increases, this makes work more difficult for many healthcare professionals, particularly sonographers. Abdominal imaging is typically deep imaging requiring great force to push into the tissue to create a diagnostic image. These are often long examinations involving several organs and/or vessels to be examined. Combining the multiple layers of fatty tissue, overlying intestinal gas, and possible skin folds to work around will only increase the duration of the exam, putting additional strain on the scanning arm. Considering all these factors, sonographers are increasingly having to resort to a “limited examination due to the patient's body habitus” because the examination did not yield images of diagnostic quality. Since most professionals work in hospitals, eager exams should also be considered. Patients are lowered into a bed or wheelchair and usually have limited mobility, if at all. The transport will drop off the patient and the sonographer will need to help the patient out of the wheelchair or into bed on their own. The weight of a patient combined with a scenario where the sonographer must lift said patient on their own puts a lot of strain on the arms and back. If the patient is already in a bed, the sonographer must work around the large, bulky and sometimes non-adjustable bed in order to access the area they need to go to. Contorting the body and twisting the spine into uncomfortable positions further increases the risk of injury. Vascular imaging, the counterpart of the ab ...... middle of paper ...... s, Volume 2, Number 9. Retrieved March 6, 2014, from: https://www.sdms.org/ lists/soundnewsvol2iss9.aspBrown, G. & Baker, J. (2004) Work-related musculoskeletal disorders in sonographers. Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography, 20(2), 85-93. Christenssen, W. (2001). Stretching exercises: reducing musculoskeletal pain and discomfort in the arms and upper body of echocardiographers. Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography, 17(123), 140. Muir, M., Hrynkow, P., Chase, R., Boyce, D., McLean, D. (2004). The nature, cause and extent of occupational musculoskeletal injuries among sonographers. Journal of Diagnostic Medical Sonography, 20(1) 217-325. Selected health conditions and risk factors: United States, selected years 1988 to 1994. (January 12, 2010). Center for Disease Control. Accessed February 19, 2014 at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus12.pdf#