How long does the MRI of an elbow take?

An MRI of the elbow takes about 20-40 minutes. During this time the patient should lie as still as possible in the tube and preferably not move (breathing movements are of course excluded). Since some patients become nervous due to the narrowness of the tube (claustrophobia), it is important to always let the radiologist know if problems such as shortness of breath or panic occur.

In such cases, the patient can also be given a mild sedative to prevent the panic claustrophobia from breaking out. Many patients also receive headphones with relaxing music on their ears to mask the sounds caused by the MRI. Therefore, even if you hear a beeping or soft hammering, you should not be unsettled, because these noises are caused by the MRI device and are completely normal. If you have a pronounced claustrophobia you will find solutions here: MRI for claustrophobia Since the arm is stretched out upwards during an MRI examination of the elbow, it is possible that the arm will fall asleep during the examination or that the position will become uncomfortable for the patient. If in doubt, the radiologist should be informed and it should be remembered that the examination does not take too long and that despite the inconvenience it is very important for the diagnosis that the patient holds the arm as still as possible, otherwise the arm may be blurred and artifacts may occur, which may make it impossible to accurately evaluate the MRI of the elbow.

What can be evaluated?

This inflammation in tennis elbow is caused by overloading of the muscle tendons in the area of the elbow and occurs particularly frequently in tennis players due to their arm position. The inflammation is caused by the fact that the overloading of the extensor muscles of the forearm causes the original tendons to tear slightly again and again and then become inflamed due to the constant mechanical strain. This inflammatory process of tennis elbow is very painful for the patient.

With the help of an MRI of the elbow, tennis elbow can be easily diagnosed as the inflammation as well as the defective tendon can be easily identified. However, an MRI of tennis elbow is rather the exception in the diagnosis. However, if a partial tear (tendon tear) of the common extensor tendon on the elbow is suspected, the MRI is superior to the ultrasound examination, especially in terms of the extent and quality of the images.