Bilateral Fatigue Fractures of the Radial Shaft in a Gymnast

Abstract

A 24-year-old female gymnast had a 3-month history of bilateral forearm pain. A Tc-99m MDP bone scan demonstrated focally increased activity in the radial shafts on blood pool and delayed images, characteristic of fatigue fractures. Fatigue fractures commonly occur in the lower extremities. Upper extremity fatigue fractures, in contrast, are uncommon and usually involve the humerus or ulna. Fatigue fracture of the radial shaft from gymnastic exercise has not been previously reported.