MR imaging appearance of insufficiency fractures of the medial tibial plateau

This paper reports on the etiology of a painful syndrome of the medial tibial plateau (MTP) in elderly patients. Findings include acute pain of the medial aspect of the knee, normal plain radiographs, and increased uptake of the MTP on bone scans. It has been related to osteonecrosis in most cases and, more rarely, to an insufficiency fracture. To our knowledge, no MR studies of patients with this syndrome have been previously reported. Five patients presenting with this syndrome (age > 59 years) were studied with MR imaging. In all five cases, initial plain radiographs were normal and increased uptake of the MTP was found on bone scans