Lowe J, Schachner E, Hirschberg E, Shapiro Y, Libson E
Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 1984 Sep;9(6):653-5. doi: 10.1097/00007632-198409000-00019.
In a prospective study, the authors evaluated the usefulness of bone scintigraphy in the work-up of young military personnel with lumbar spondylolysis and persistent low back pain. Ten out of 23 spondylolytic individuals with a recent history of low back pain had positive scintigrams, and none of a group of painless spondylolytic individuals had positive scans. We believe these results indicate that bone scintigraphy is of value in determining whether a spondylolysis in a young individual can be attributed to recent physical exertion or a specific recent traumatic incident.
