Avulsion Fracture and Myositis Ossificans in a Professional Teenage Dancer: A Case Report

Fractures of the transverse processes in the lumbar vertebrae occur as the result of major forces such as direct blunt trauma, violent lateral flexion-extension forces, avulsion of the psoas muscle, or Malgaigne fractures of the pelvis. Dancers make repeated and forceful hyperextension and flexions of the spine, which may cause fractures of the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebrae. Repeated trauma of muscles in dancers may cause avulsion fractures and myositis ossificans. Herein, we report MRI and CT findings of an avulsion from the right transverse process of the L2 and L3 vertebrae in a 16-year-old professional teenage dancer, who responded to conservative treatment.