Unstable fracture of the 4th lumbar vertebra

Unstable fracture of the 4th lumbar vertebraBurst fracture of the 4th lumbar vertebra with involvement of the epidural space and neural foramina.

Vertebral fractures can be differentiated into two types:

Resulting from "adequate trauma" in younger people. This means that the violence that occurred in the accident corresponds to the severity of injury (traffic accidents, falls from heights). Often not only the bone bursts, but the spinal canal can also affected, with the threatening possibility of a spinal cord injury.

Osteoporotic bone fractures in in older people. This is called an "inadequate trauma" if caused by lifting a shopping bag for example.

Treatment also differs: While young people may have to be immobilized or be treated with stabilizing surgery to counteract the possible spinal cord injury the elderly profit from early remobilization as to prevent further loss of bone mass. The risk of spinal cord injury is much smaller than in younger patients.

There are several treatment options for vertebra fractures, a very elegant method for the rapid remobilization of older people with vertebral fractures involves a relatively small operation where the collapsed vertebra is filled with bone cement and stabilized. This relieves pain and reduces the time it takes the fracture to heal considerably. Otherwise healing can take up to a year.