Sports and occupational injuries of the elbow: MR imaging findings

Elbow injuries may limit participation in sports and occupational endeavors, as well as activities of daily living. Conventional radiography is the appropriate initial screening technique for evaluation of possible osseous injury or arthritis/arthrosis, but often it offers little information concerning soft-tissue derangement, which is a common source of dysfunction. MR imaging can evaluate these soft tissue to assist in diagnosis, as well as in planning treatment and assessing response to treatment. This essay illustrates MR findings of both the chronic overuse and the more acute traumatic soft-tissue injuries involving ligaments, tendons, muscles, and neurovascular structures, as well as radiographically occult osteochondral injuries.