There is a good body of evidence that indicates that ultrasound-guided injections are much more accurate than unguided/landmark guided injections. Accuracy rates for ultrasound-guided injections are above 90% whilst for many unguided injections the accuracy rates are much lower usually in the 70% region but in some cases as low as 40%.

Overall ultrasound-guided injections provide better outcomes when compared to unguided injections. For some easily accessible areas the differences might be small. But ultrasound guidance provides bigger differences in difficult to access joint such as: hip joints but also very small joints such as the hand and the foot and other areas with complex anatomy.

If an unguided injection was not beneficial due to inaccuracy the patient might require a repeat injection whereas if the injection had been carried out under ultrasound guidance to start with the likely need to repeat the injection would be significantly less.

By visualising the needle in real-time the clinician can avoid structures such as nerves and blood vessels and other organs which significantly reduces the risk of accidental puncture of these structures making the procedure significantly safer.

The clinician can also verify that the injected substance has been accurately deposited by seeing it within the target structure.

The accuracy of the needle placement also allows the injector to avoid pain sensitive structures making the procedure much less uncomfortable.

Harmful exposure to radiation such as this used with fluoroscopy of CT-guided injections is not necessary as the ultrasound waves used are not harmful.

Dynamic examination whilst performing ultrasound scan can help to guide the injection more accurately as the exact source of pain can be identified during movement.