Sacral stress fractures in long-distance runners

OBJECTIVE. Sacral stress fractures in athletes are rare but important to re cognize because the symptoms often mimic sciatica and can lead to delay in diagnosis and treatment. The radiographic findings are characteristic and c an facilitate early diagnosis and lead to appropriate treatment. CONCLUSION. The clinical presentation of runners with sacral stress fractur es can mimic disk disease. However, stress fractures in athletes, especiall y long-distance runners, must be treated differently. The imaging character istics appear as linear abnormal signal intensity paralleling the sacroilia c joint on MR imaging and linear sclerosis with cortical disruption on CT. Imaging with bone scintigraphy shows increased uptake that parallels the sa croiliac joint.