Technical considerations in MR imaging of the hip.

MR imaging of the hip presents technical difficulties seldom encountered when imaging other joints. The imager is responsible for surrounding bony and soft tissue structures susceptible to many maladies that can mimic hip pain related to an intra-articular derangement. The anatomic nature of the hip and pelvis present difficulties with application and use of local receiver coils. A lack of hip joint capaciousness and distensibility presents obstacles to acquiring diagnostic images with direct and indirect arthrography. Imagers must strive to improve diagnostic accuracy and maximize the information provided to referring clinicians in each MR imaging report in order to help choose the most appropriate therapeutic course. In this article, the authors review technical considerations specific to patient subsets and suspected causalgia of pain or dysfunction about the hip.