Comparative study of elbow disorders in young high-performance gymnasts.

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate the prognosis of osteochondral affection (e.g., osteochondritis dissecans (OCD), cartilage lesions, fractures and bone edema in the elbows of high-performance gymnasts (n=30) compared to prognosis results with athletes not undergoing excessive stress on the upper extremity (n=29). The study also tested a novel isotropic 3D-FSE-sequence (CUBE) technique as an early diagnostic modality. Standard protocol was used to conduct the MRI examinations, which were then compared to results from the CUBE - sequence. The gymnast group (p=0.012) presented a significantly higher prevalence of complaints in the elbow joint compared to the other athlete group. Furthermore, osteochondral lesions in MRIs appeared more frequently in the group of gymnasts (n=10, 33%, p=0.033), including 7 cases (23%) of OCD. In the control athlete group 2 asymptomatic cases of OCD and one case of bone edema were detected. The MRI investigation with the CUBE - sequence showed similar results as the standard MRI protocol in terms of the diagnosis sensitivity. The current study indicates that juvenile gymnasts are at a higher risk for osteochondral lesions of the elbow than athletes without excessive stress on the upper extremities.

• Authors: J Dexel, K Marschner, H Beck, I Platzek, S Wasnik, M Schuler, A Nasreddin, P Kasten
• Journal: International journal of sports medicine (Int J Sports Med) Vol. 35 Issue 11 Pg. 960-5 (Oct 2014) ISSN: 1439-3964 [Electronic] Germany
• PMID: 24863726 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Topics

• Adolescent
• Cartilage, Articular (injuries)
• Child
• Edema (diagnosis)
• Female
• Fractures, Bone (diagnosis)
• Gymnastics (injuries)
• Humans
• Imaging, Three-Dimensional
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (methods)
• Male
• Osteochondritis Dissecans (diagnosis)
• Elbow Injuries