Musculoskeletal pain is a significant contributor to disability. The mechanism and
target of the treatment should be optimized by imaging, but currently no accepted
gold standard exists to image pain. In addition to end-organ pathology, other mediators
also contribute to nociception, such as angiogenesis, axonal extension, immunologic
modulation, and central sensitization. Recent research indicates that local inflammation
is a significant contributor to pain in the extremities; therefore, we focus here
on edema-like marrow signal intensity (ELMSI). We examine both the relevance of ELMSI
for pain and novel imaging techniques.
Keywords
pain - pain imaging - bone marrow edema - edema-like marrow signal intensity
