Imaging of acute lower limb muscle injury and potential gender differences

• Published in: Irish journal of medical science Vol. 193; no. 3; pp. 1509 - 1513
• Main Authors: Hanley, Marion, Ryan, David T., Hynes, John P., Long, Niamh M., Eustace, Stephen J., Kavanagh, Eoin C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.06.2024
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Athletic Injuries - diagnostic imaging; Family Medicine; Female; General Practice; Humans; Internal Medicine; Leg Injuries - diagnostic imaging; Lower Extremity - diagnostic imaging; Lower Extremity - injuries; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Muscle, Skeletal - diagnostic imaging; Muscle, Skeletal - injuries; Original Article; Sex Factors; Young Adult; British Athletics muscle injury classification; Gender differences; Acute muscle injury
• ISSN: 0021-1265; 1863-4362
• DOI: 10.1007/s11845-023-03562-9

Objectives To assess the most common lower limb acute muscle injuries on MRI imaging in a national specialist centre for orthopaedics and sports medicine and to explore potential gender differences. Methods Over a 3-year time period, all MRI lower limb studies with acute muscle injury (AMI) were reviewed. A British Athletics muscle injury classification (BAMIC) was given and a statistical analysis was performed. Results A total of 195 AMIs were diagnosed: 177 (91%) male and 18 (9%) female injuries (M to F = 9.8:1). The most common lower limb AMIs were BAMIC grade 1a injuries ( n  = 48, 25%). The most commonly injured muscle was biceps femoris ( n  = 87, 45%), specifically grade 1b and grade 2b injuries. There was no significant difference in age between men and women with acute lower limb muscle injuries ( p  = 0.19). Females were 1.5 times more likely to have a lower grade AMI than males, although this did not reach statistical significance ( p  = 0.7) owing to a striking lower number of female patients. There was no significant difference between genders in the likelihood of sustaining a hamstring or quadricep AMI (hamstrings OR = 2.47, p  = 0.14 and quadriceps OR = 0.926, p 0.99). Conclusions Grade 1a is the most common lower limb AMI grade in our institution, accounting for 25%. Biceps femoris is the most commonly injured muscle (45%) with grade 1b and grade 2b being the most frequently encountered grades of biceps femoris injuries. Lower-grade injuries are more common in females compared to males, although not significantly so. Further studies are required to explore possible reasons for this gender gap.