Synopsis

Keywords: Musculoskeletal: Muscular, Musculoskeletal: Skeletal, Musculoskeletal: Joints

Motivation: With the widespread application of MRI in acute MSK injury, being familiar with MRI findings can help to provide a more detailed assessment of the injury.
Goals: To summarize the MRI manifestations of acute MSK trauma and improve radiologists' assessment of acute MSK injury.
Approach: This study provides a comprehensive overview of the occurrence, development, and MRI findings of acute MSK injury through case presentation.
Results: MRI has a value that cannot be ignored for acute MSK injury. MRI can conduct a comprehensive assessment of the severity of the injury, and provide richer information for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Syllabus

MRI is one of the most commonly used imaging methods for detecting acute MSK injury [1-3]. Due to its ultrahigh soft tissue resolution, MRI is indispensable for evaluating acute MSK injury and provides enormous value for orthopedic and sports medicine treatments. Acute MSK injury includes various types of diseases, such as fractures, soft tissue injuries, and vascular and nerve injuries, which seriously affect patients' quality of life and motor function and may even lead to disability. MRI has the advantages of multidirectional and multisequence imaging and has high diagnostic sensitivity for bone and soft tissue injuries [4]. MRI can also provide a more in-depth evaluation of acute MSK injury through functional imaging techniques such as diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) and detect small lesions. It has high sensitivity for diagnosing and evaluating early injuries, helping to detect and distinguish types of injuries as early as possible. Fracture is one of the most common acute MSK injuries. MRI can not only evaluate fractures and joint dislocations but also detect hidden fractures. However, this approach is less sensitive for minor avulsion fractures. Moreover, MRI can further evaluate soft tissue injuries caused by fractures, such as ligament and muscle injuries, as well as compartment syndrome, which helps to more accurately locate the fracture end, evaluate fracture healing, and indicate soft tissue injuries, thereby providing patients with more accurate treatment plans. MRI has irreplaceable value in evaluating soft tissue, as it can display structures such as muscles, ligaments, cartilage, joint capsules, nerves, and blood vessels. MRI can effectively evaluate and observe conditions such as muscle tears, ligament strains, cartilage injuries, and nerve compression in diagnosing acute soft tissue injury. Compared to other imaging methods, such as X-ray and CT, MRI can provide more detailed and comprehensive information, helping clinicians to have a more comprehensive understanding of the patient's injury situation. Notably, the application of MRI in acute MSK trauma is not limited to the diagnostic stage; MRI also plays an important role in the treatment process. Through regular MRI, clinicians can monitor patient recovery and adjust treatment plans promptly. They can also evaluate posttraumatic complications and help make clinical adjustments to treatment plans on time to improve patient prognosis. The application of MRI in acute MSK injury has significant advantages and value. With the improvements in soft tissue imaging and the introduction of functional imaging technology, MRI has become one of the preferred methods for assessing acute MSK injury. With technology's continuous development and improvement, MRI will likely provide more accurate and personalized diagnostic and treatment services to more patients and promote medical progress in acute MSK injury.

Acknowledgements

None.

References

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