Sagittal STIR images show the marrow edema associated with the fractures with saw on CT. There is clearly edema within the interspinous space at L1-L2 (red arrow – sagittal STIR) consistent with injury to the interspinous ligament. On the left, there is focal disruption of the ligamentum flavum at the L1-L2 level consistent with traumatic injury/rupture. On the right, the curvilinear STIR hyperintensity is likely within the bone and corresponds to the fracture line we saw on the prior CT.

One final finding in this case is the prominence of the posterior epidural fat as seen on sagittal T1 images (red arrows – sagittal T1) which when correlated with the STIR image, demonstrates superimposed edema. The result is severe crowding in the thecal sack as can be seen on the axial images (orange arrow – axial T2)