Importance of positioning and frequency of unexpected scintigraphic findings in a high impact sport.

Stress-related injuries have been reported for numerous forms of exercise and sport. The patterns of injury and the incremental value of specially developed views were retrospectively reviewed at the end of three successive playing seasons of Australian football. The primary sites of clinical trauma were imaged, as were immediately adjacent bones and joints in order to assess concurrent trauma, and an attempt was made to evaluate the need to extend the area of scanning. Of the injuries detected, 67% of the total occurred at or below the level of the knee. Fifty-five per cent of these injuries occurred in the tibiae, fibulae and bones of the foot in a pattern reflecting the nature of the traumatic insult recurring in this particular sport. An incremental value of 28% was found for the specially developed views. Clinically unsuspected pathology was found in 54% of cases.