MAGNETIC-RESONANCE-IMAGING OF TIBIAL PERI OSTITIS

Tibial periostitis frequently occurs in athletes. We present our exper ience with MRI in a series of 7 patients (11 legs) with this condition . The clinical presentation and scintigraphic scanning suggested the d iagnosis. MRI exploration of 11 legs demonstrated a high band-like jux ta-osseous signal enhancement on SE and IR T2 weighted sequences in 6 cases, a signal enhancement after i.v. contrast administration in 4. T ibial periostitis is a clinical diagnosis and MRI and scintigraphic fi ndings can be used to assure the differential diagnosis in difficult c ases with stress fracture. MRI can visualize juxta-osseous edematous a nd inflammatory reactions and an increased signal would appear to be c haracteristic when the band-like image is fixed to the periosteum.