It is a vertebral fracture usually caused by high-energy trauma. It can occur at the cervical, thoracic or lumbar level and can involve one or more vertebrae.
These fractures cause symptoms like pain due to the fracture itself or to secondary deformity. Neurological symptoms may appear when there is an involvement of the neural structures such as the spinal cord or the nerve roots.
The treatment can be conservative or surgical depending on the type of the fracture and the associated vertebral instability. It consists of pain relievers, rest and immobilization with braces, or surgical stabilization and correction of deformities with prosthetic implants. Kyphoplasty or vertebroplasty can be useful in some fractures.
Treatments:
Percutaneous dorsal and lumbar kyphoplasty
Percutaneous posterior lumbar fusion
Anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion
Anterior cervical microdiscectomy and fusion with interbody graft and anterior cervical plate