Spine imaging helps in the diagnosis of ankle pain in body builder

Abstract

Background: The ankle joint moves through a smaller range of motion in body building than in other sport's activities. Cutting and training, the pathomechanics of most ankle injuries, are avoided during weight lifting, so ankle pain in this kind of sport is due to other reasons.
Objective: Using CT and MRI for the diagnosis of severe disc hernia.
Case report: Fifty-eight years old body builder, without previous ankle sprain, began to suffer from pain in the lower part of the right leg, above and around the ankle joint, appears while standing for few minutes or walking for 100 meters or more, and disappears while sit. CT scan and MRI of the low back, demonstrated bilateral spondylolysis in L5, narrowing of the neural foramina between the vertebrae L5 and S1, and compression over the posterior nerve root in the right side by bulging disc.
Conclusions: The fact that the athlete stopped his activity in body building and several months later the ankle pain disappeared, may explain the influence of this kind of sport on the nerve root.

Key words:

body building, disc hernia, painful ankle