MR imaging of the spine in sports injuries.

MR imaging has afforded an ability to better visualize and characterize a whole host of spine abnormalities encountered in the athletic population. It remains the mainstay in the noninvasive diagnosis of most soft-tissue abnormalities occurring within and about the spine. Its role in the evaluation of central spinal stenosis, the central spinal canal, and the spinal cord is unsurpassed by other noninvasive imaging modalities. In the setting of underlying fractures, it is complementary to CT, particularly with respect to evaluating concomitant soft-tissue and ligamentous abnormalities. With its ability to image edema and reactive marrow changes, it is useful in the evaluation of osseous stress changes that may occur in the athletic population.