Femoral head osteochondral lesions in painful hips of athletes: MR imaging findings.

OBJECTIVE. This study describes the MR imaging findings of focal osteochondral lesions found in the hips of 11 athletes with persistent pain and normal findings on radiographs.CONCLUSION. Osteochondral lesions of the femoral head are seen on MR imaging as focal, medial areas of high T2-weighted and low T1-weighted signals and should be considered as a possible cause of persistent hip or groin pain in young, high-level athletes because the institution of appropriate treatment may help to prevent late degenerative sequelae.