MR imaging of ankle impingement syndromes.

Abstract

551 nkle impingement syndromes are painful conditions caused by the friction of joint tissues, which is both the cause and the effect of altered joint biomechanics. The leading causes of impingement lesions are posttraumatic ankle injuries, usually ankle sprains, resulting in chronic ankle pain [1]. From anatomic and clinical viewpoints, these syndromes are classified as anterolateral, anterior, anteromedial, posteromedial, and posterior [1, 2]. Careful analyses of patient history and signs and symptoms at physical examination can suggest a specific diagnosis in most patients. MR imaging and MR arthrography are the most useful imaging methods for detecting the osseous and soft-tissue abnormalities present in these syndromes and for ruling out other potential causes of chronic ankle pain [1–3]. Treatment of all impinging lesions is the same regardless of the cause. The initial treatment is conservative, but when this fails, arthroscopic examination is indicated to identify and resect the impinging lesion [1, 2]. The purpose of this article is to describe the clinical, MR imaging, and MR arthrography features of ankle impingement syndromes.