A brief presentation of imaging techniques of interest to the physiatrist must necessarily be selective. Because the diagnosis and initial treatment of fractures are primarily the responsibility of the orthopedic surgeon, with the rehabilitation professional typically involved only later in the course, a full discussion of fractures is not presented in this chapter. Only those fractures that bring patients under the long-term care of the physiatrist are included (e.g., vertebral fractures with the potential to damage the spinal cord). Similarly, tumors and infectious processes are de-emphasized. Rather, emphasis is placed on imaging degenerative musculoskeletal processes, spine and head trauma, stroke, and degenerative central nervous system (CNS) diseases commonly seen by the physiatrist. We will also cover imaging in sport medicine as this is a rapidly changing area in radiology and review the current applications of diagnostic ultrasound in the evaluation of musculoskeletal disorders.

In the past two decades, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have become the most sophisticated imaging modalities for evaluating the musculoskeletal system and the CNS. Therefore, this chapter focuses mainly on the recent applications of CT and MRI in the imaging of musculoskeletal and neural pathology of interest to the physiatrist. In the final section, we will introduce some relatively new imaging technologies of interest to the physiatrist, including advanced MRI methods and ultrasound imaging (USI).

The role of plain film examinations in the assessment of abnormalities of specific joint disorders is well established in the medical literature. A brief review of the most commonly performed radiographic examinations of the extremities will be done when addressing the specific subject.