Clinical Aspects of Thoracic and Lumbar Spine and Spinal Cord Injuries

Abstract

Injuries to the spine range in severity from muscle strains and ligament sprains to fracture of the vertebral bodies, fractures of the dorsal elements, dislocation of the facets, and complex combination fracture dislocations. The spinal cord and nerve roots traversing the spinal canal and neural foramina may be injured by any encroachment into the spinal canal. Patients with stable compression fractures may suffer concomitant injury to the spinal cord, and patients with grossly unstable comminuted fractures may escape neurological injury. Both of these situations, however, are relatively rare. In general, the more comminuted, displaced, and unstable the spinal fracture, the greater the likelihood of severe cord damage.