MRT of the hand and wrist of sport climbers. Imaging of injuries and consequences of stress overload]

The hands and wrists of 20 top-level rock climbers with sports injuries and overstress abnormalities were compared with the hands and wrists of 10 normal volunteers. They were all studied with MR imaging at 1.5 T. The imaging protocol included spin-echo and gradient-echo sequences with 1- to 5-mm-thick contiguous slices in the axial, coronal and/or sagittal planes, depending on the location and nature of the suspected injury. Typical hand and wrist lesions depicted with MRI in climbers consisted of anular ligament tears, lesions of the flexor tendons, tenosynovitis, ganglion cysts, joint effusion and functional carpal tunnel syndrome. The MRI findings on these abnormalities were compared to normal findings and those with ultrasound and plain films. In addition, hypertrophic changes in the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones of top-level rock climbers were assessed morphometrically. MRI proved to be the superior imaging modality in the diagnosis of sports injuries and overstress abnormalities of the hand and wrist in rock-climbing athletes.