burst fracture


A traumatic injury caused by high-energy axial loading due to falls from heights or MVAs/RTAs, resulting in vertebral body fractures which may shatter from the force, resulting in an unstable spinal cord with a high risk of paralysis below the region of the fracture
Diagnosis CT, MRI, neurosurgical consultation
Management Clear bone from region, spinal fusion, rehabilitation

com·pres·sion frac·ture

(kŏm-presh'ŭn frak'shŭr) Breakage causing loss of height of the vertebral body either by trauma or by pathology. It occurs most commonly in thoracic and lumbar spines. A common sequela of osteoporosis.
Synonym(s): burst fracture.

burst fracture

A vertebral fracture similar to a compression fracture but typically more severe and involving displacement of the bony fragments. See: compression fractureSee also: fracture