Purpose

Medial epicondyle (ME) and elbow joint proximal (UCL-p) and distal ulnar collateral ligament (UCL-d) asymptomatic injuries are frequently observed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, the injury rates vary among these structures in elbow screening of adolescent baseball players, despite being adjacent medial structures of the elbow. This study aimed to retrospectively determine the actual injury site and rate, and investigate the underlying reason for discrepancies anatomically and biomechanically.

Materials and methods

Forty-four male adolescent baseball players were scanned using MRI. Two interpreters independently and retrospectively assessed the ME, UCL-p, and UCL-d injuries using the gradient echo axial, sagittal, and coronal planes.

Results

The injury prevalence was significantly higher in the ME and UCL-p (> 50% of the participants) than in the UCL-d (22.7%), P < 0.01 and P < 0.01, respectively. Additionally, there was a tendency toward a high-frequency injury rate of the ME or UCL-p.

Conclusion

The injury site of the medial structures tended to be proximal. The ME and UCL-p were observed to be more frequently injured compared to the UCL-d in adolescent baseball players according to the dedicated MRI findings in this study.

中文翻译：

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利用专用磁共振成像技术研究青少年棒球运动员肘部内侧结构无症状损伤的部位和频率

目的

经常使用磁共振成像（MRI）观察到内侧上con（ME）和肘关节近端（UCL-p）以及远端尺侧副韧带（UCL-d）的无症状损伤。但是，在青少年棒球运动员的肘部检查中，尽管这些伤害是相邻的肘部内侧结构，但伤害率在这些结构之间有所不同。这项研究旨在回顾性地确定实际的损伤部位和发生率，并从解剖学和生物力学上调查差异的根本原因。

材料和方法

使用MRI对44名男性青少年棒球运动员进行了扫描。两名口译人员使用梯度回波轴向，矢状和冠状平面独立且回顾性地评估了ME，UCL-p和UCL-d损伤。

结果

ME和UCL-p（> 50％的参与者）的伤害发生率显着高于UCL-d（22.7％），P  <0.01和P  <0.01。另外，存在ME或UCL-p的高频损伤率的趋势。

结论

内侧结构的损伤部位倾向于近端。根据这项研究的专用MRI结果，与青少年棒球运动员中的UCL-d相比，观察到ME和UCL-p受伤更为频繁。