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For Release After 11 a.m. CST, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 1997

PAINFUL -- AND COMMON -- "GOLFER'S WRIST" IS OFTEN

A FRACTURE, MR IMAGING SHOWS

CHICAGO -- The cause of wrist pain some golfers experience that is not diagnosed with x-rays may well be due to stress fractures, according to researchers who are finding the tiny breaks with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Their study on the cause of "golfer's wrist" is being presented here today during the 83rd Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

"Fracture of the hook of the hamate, a small bone in the wrist, is an important and common stress injury that affects the non-dominant hand of golfers," said John Francis Feller, M.D., chief of musculoskeletal imaging, Eisenhower Medical Center and clinical assistant professor of radiology, Stanford University, Calif. The symptoms are pain and tenderness in the wrist or palm on the side opposite the thumb.

"The diagnosis is often delayed because it cannot be seen on conventional x-rays. Untreated, it can lead to chronic pain and interfere with the golfer's game." The injury, which can plague both professional and amateur golfers, also is seen in baseball players or other athletes who repeatedly swing a bat, club or racquet with both hands, Dr. Feller said.

Dr. Feller reported results of MR scans on 12 patients, all of whom also had conventional radiographs. None of the injuries showed up on x-ray, but 100 percent were diagnosed with MR. In each case, the non-dominant (left) wrist of a right-handed golfer was involved.

All of the patients were successfully treated with surgery. "The treatment is to remove the hook of the hamate bone, a relatively simple operation that does not cause permanent impairment. It enables golfers to get back to their previous level of playing, Dr. Feller said."

Co-authors of a paper on the topic presented by Dr. Feller during the RSNA meeting are S. O'Connell, M.D., and W. Kelly, M.D.

The RSNA is an association of 30,000 radiologists and physicists in medicine dedicated to education and research in the science of radiology. The Society's headquarters are located at 2021 Spring Road, Suite 600, Oak Brook, Illinois 60523-1860.

# # # Copies of 1997 RSNA news releases are available online at http://www.pcipr.com/rsna beginning Monday, Dec. 1.