Incidence of elbow injuries in adolescent baseball players: screening by a low field magnetic resonance imaging system specialized for small joints

The aim of this preliminary study was to examine the capability of screening for elbow injuries induced by baseball using a low field small joint MRI system. Sixty-two players in the 4th-6th elementary school grades, with ages ranging from 9 to 12 years, participated in this study. Screening for elbow injuries was performed using a low-magnetic-field (0.2-T) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system designed for examinations of small joints of the extremities. Gradient-echo coronal, sagittal, and short-tau inversion recovery (STIR) coronal images of the dominant arm used for pitching were obtained to identify medial collateral ligament (MCL) injuries with or without avulsion fracture and osteochondritis dissecans. All 62 examinations were performed successfully, with 26 players (41.9 %) showing positive findings, all being confined to the MCL. No child showed bone damage. All criteria in the MRI evaluation of injuries showed high agreement rates and kappa values between two radiologists. Screening for early detection of elbow injuries in junior Japanese baseball players can be successfully performed using a low-field MRI system specialized for small joints. The percentage of MCL injury without avulsion fracture was unexpectedly high (41.9 %).