Blunt Trauma Soft-Tissue Uptake on Skeletal Scintigraphy

Muscle and soft-tissue uptake have been described numerous times in the literature in patients undergoing Tc-99m methylene diphosphonate skeletal scintigraphy following trauma. Many of these traumas range from electrical burns, intramuscular injections, sports-related trauma, and overexercising, to actual physical damage resulting in superficial bruising and skin discoloration. In this case the patient presented with continuing low back pain after falling down some stairs. Although the scan was essentially normal for bony trauma, subtle soft-tissue uptake was detected that was enhanced with the addition of single photon emission computed tomographic imaging and surface rendering.