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Natural History and Monitoring of Fractures and Microfractures

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Imaging of Orthopedic Sports Injuries

Part of the book series: Medical Radiology ((Med Radiol Diagn Imaging))

Abstract

Musculoskeletal injuries are common in elite athletes of highly competitive sports and among recreational or “weekend” athletes. Delay in diagnosis could lead to improper treatment and development of complications. Imaging with plain radiographs, CT, MR imaging, and scintigraphy provides valuable information which allows an early diagnosis. The requests for MR imaging in patients with sports-related injuries are increasing because of its superb contrast resolution. Ultrasonography is a reliable diagnostic modality for imaging sports-related injuries, with wide availability and relatively low cost, more efficient though for soft tissues rather than osseous structures. Each modality has advantages and limitations in imaging fractures and microfractures in athletes. Knowledge of their natural history will aid in understanding the significance of imaging in both diagnosis and treatment planning. Monitoring of the above injuries is meaningful only when imaging data will alter patient’s management.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, University Hospital, Crete, Greece

    Apostolos H. Karantanas

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Correspondence to Apostolos H. Karantanas .

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  1. Department of Radiology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium

    Filip M. Vanhoenacker

  2. Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam University Medical Centres, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Mario Maas

  3. Department of Radiology, Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium

    Jan L.M.A. Gielen

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Karantanas, A.H. (2021). Natural History and Monitoring of Fractures and Microfractures. In: Vanhoenacker, F.M., Maas, M., Gielen, J.L. (eds) Imaging of Orthopedic Sports Injuries. Medical Radiology(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/174_2020_271

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