Spinal Fracture – Cervical, Dorsal, Lumbar

Breakage of the vertebrae causing changes in the alignment of the spine along with pinching/ pressure/compression of the spinal cord or the spinal nerves.

Causes

• Trauma – most common
• Osteoporotic – mostly in elderly patients
• Tumours of the spine

Symptoms
Symptoms depend of the location of the fracture
Cervical – pain and numbness in the neck with radiation upto the hand, weakness of the upper and lower limbs, with or without bladder/bowel symptoms
Dorsal – pain in the mid-back, numbness/weakness of the lower limbs, with or without bladder/bowel symptoms
Lumbar – pain in the lower back, numbness/weakness of the lower limbs, with or without bladder/bowel symptoms

Diagnosis

• X rays – shows the fracture of the bones along with loss of normal alignment
• CT scans are better than X rays o pick up fractures
• MRI scan – shows the amount of damage to the spinal cord/ spinal nerves. They also help in identifying the soft tissue elements in tumour and infective cases.

Treatment
Treatment of often surgical.
Cervical – Cervical stabilisation with cervical plate and screws
Dorsal – Spine stabilisation with Pedicle screws
Lumbar – Spine stabilisation with Pedicle screws