Affiliations: [a] Department of Sport Medicine and Research, Japan Institute of Sports Sciences, Kita City, Tokyo, Japan | [b] Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Shinjuku City, Tokyo, Japan | [c] Department of Radiology, Saitama Medical University, Iruma District, Saitama, Japan
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Mika Hangai, Department of Sport Medicine and Research, Japan Institute of Sports Sciences, 3-15-1 Nishigaoka, Kita-ku Tokyo 115-0056, Japan. Tel.: +81 3 5963 0211; Fax: +81 3 5963 0212; E-mail: mika.hangai@jpnsport.go.jp.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Sacroiliac joint (SIJ) dysfunction in athletes affects competitiveness. However, the pathology and imaging features have not been clarified. OBJECTIVE: To clarify the association between SIJ pain and MRI findings in high-performance athletes. METHODS: Fifty-two Japanese high-performance athletes with or without SIJ pain were recruited. MRI short tau inversion recovery (STIR) semi-coronal and semi-axial images of their SIJs were taken. The relationships between high-signal changes in MRI-STIR and SIJ pain and pain duration were investigated. Six athletes with continuous SIJ pain were prospectively followed. RESULTS: The proportion of athletes with high-signal changes in the SIJ was significantly higher among athletes with SIJ pain for one month or more (76.9%, 10/13) than among athletes with SIJ pain for less than one month (18.2%, 2/11) and among athletes without SIJ pain (28.6%, 8/28). High-signal changes on painful SIJs were most often present in the sacrum. In three of the six athletes who were prospectively followed, the high-signal area and intensity on MRI both diminished as their symptoms improved. CONCLUSIONS: High-signal changes of the SIJ on MRI-STIR images in high-performance athletes may reflect their SIJ pain.
Keywords: Sacroiliac joint, bone marrow edema, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), high-performance athletes, mechanical stress, differential diagnosis
