Imaging of Spondylolysis: The Evolving Role of Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Upper Lumbar Bone Stress Injuries in Elite Cricketers

“…Diagnosis of upper LBSI in this study was predominantly from MRI, particularly those after 2012 (28 of 39 cases diagnosed from 2013 onward). Specifically, the imaging used was fat suppressed or short-tau inversion recovery or similar sequences to assess for bone marrow edema, 20 and modified thin-slice three-dimensional T1-weighted radiofrequency spoiled echo sequences (volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination or VIBE) to assess for a fracture. 19 Two examples of upper LBSI identified on VIBE sequences are provided, showing similar appearance to a lower LBSI of the posterior vertebral arch (Figure 2A, B).…”

“…For each case, the mean age at time of diagnosis was 22.2 6 4.0 years. Two cases occurred at T12 (5%, 95% CI 1-17), 3 cases at L1 (8%, [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], 20 cases at L2 (51%, 36-66), and 14 cases at L3 (36%, 23-52). Ten cases were recurrent injuries.…”

Vibration Signal Analysis for Detecting Early-Stage Lumbar Spondylolysis Using Synthetic Bone

“…The prevalence of pars defects is reportedly high in adolescent athletes with back pain [4][5][6][7]. In particular, bilateral lumbar spondylolysis will be an onset of spondylolisthesis in the future, and may eventually progress to lumbago [8,9]. Although lumbar spondylolysis is a major cause of low back pain in adolescence, it is usually asymptomatic in early stages.…”

“…Although lumbar spondylolysis is a major cause of low back pain in adolescence, it is usually asymptomatic in early stages. Bony healing is more likely to occur when spondylolysis is diagnosed within one month of symptom onset, with unilateral fractures having higher healing rates than bilateral or pseudo-bilateral fractures [8]. On the other hand, if bone healing cannot be achieved, athletes with lumbar spondylolysis may develop low back pain and/or spondylolisthesis in the future.…”