Calcific tendinitis is caused by the pathologic deposition of calcium hydroxyapatite crystals in tendons and is a common cause of joint pain. The disease typically affects the shoulder and hip, with characteristic imaging findings; however, any joint can be involved. Occasionally, calcific tendinitis can mimic aggressive disorders, such as infection and neoplasm, especially on magnetic resonance imaging. Radiologists should be familiar with the imaging findings to distinguish calcific tendinitis from more aggressive processes. Image-guided percutaneous needle aspiration and steroid injection of calcific tendinitis are useful techniques performed by the radiologist for the treatment of symptomatic cases. Familiarity with these procedures and their imaging appearance is an important aspect in the management of this common disease.

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Rotator cuff tears are common and often repaired surgically, but post-operative repair tissue healing, and shoulder function can be unpredictable. Tear chronicity is believed to influence clinical outcomes, but conventional clinical approaches for assessing tear chronicity are subjective. Shear wave elastography (SWE) is a promising technique for assessing soft tissue via estimates of shear wave speed (SWS), but this technique has not been used extensively on the rotator cuff. Specifically, the effects of age and pathology on rotator cuff SWS are not well known. The objectives of this study were to assess the association between SWS and age in healthy, asymptomatic subjects, and to compare measures of SWS between patients with a rotator cuff tear and healthy, asymptomatic subjects. SWE images of the supraspinatus muscle and intramuscular tendon were acquired from 19 asymptomatic subjects and 11 patients with a rotator cuff tear. Images were acquired with the supraspinatus under passive and active (i.e., minimal activation) conditions. Mean SWS was positively associated with age in the supraspinatus muscle and tendon under passive and active conditions (p ≤ 0.049). Compared to asymptomatic subjects, patients had a lower mean SWS in their muscle and tendon under active conditions (p ≤ 0.024), but no differences were detected under passive conditions (p ≥ 0.783). These findings identify the influences of age and pathology on SWS in the rotator cuff. These preliminary findings are an important step toward evaluating the clinical utility of SWE for assessing rotator cuff pathology. © 2017 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 36:282-288, 2018.

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Plantar vein thrombosis is a rare condition, with only a handful of cases reported in the literature. The cause is unknown; however, the disease has been attributed to prior surgery, trauma, and paraneoplastic conditions. We present a case of a 32-year-old female runner with plantar vein thrombosis diagnosed on contrast-enhanced MRI and confirmed on ultrasound. The symptoms resolved with conservative treatment and evaluation revealed the presence of a prothrombin gene mutation and use of oral contraceptive pills. To our knowledge, this is the first case of plantar vein thrombosis diagnosed initially by MRI. Moreover, this case suggests that plantar vein thrombosis should be considered in patients with hypercoagulable states and plantar foot pain.