Treatment of sequelae of lumbar fracture

Compression fractures are mainly caused by sudden excessive flexion of the spine due to violence transmitted from the head and feet. Due to the injury to the flexion position of the spine, the external force is concentrated on the front of one vertebra, which is squeezed by the upper and lower vertebrae at the same time. Therefore, the vertebra is compressed and wedge-shaped, and displaced backwards, damaging the spinal cord or cauda equina. If the corticospinal lateral fasciculus or anterior fasciculus is affected, spastic paraplegia will occur. If the anterior horn cells of the spinal cord or the cauda equina are affected, flaccid paraplegia will occur. Let's take a look.

Lumbar fractures will leave some sequelae. The lumbar vertebrae in the waist are the weight-bearing parts, including bearing the weight of the body and lifting things. They also have many important functions. The most common one is feeling tired and having back pain after a little activity, especially on rainy days.

Causes:

Compression fractures are mainly caused by sudden excessive flexion of the spine due to violence transmitted from the head and feet. Due to the injury to the flexion position of the spine, the external force is concentrated on the front of one vertebra, which is squeezed by the upper and lower vertebrae at the same time. Therefore, the vertebra is compressed and wedge-shaped, and displaced backwards, damaging the spinal cord or cauda equina. If the lateral or anterior corticospinal fasciculus is affected, spastic paraplegia occurs, and if the anterior horn cells of the spinal cord or the cauda equina are affected, flaccid paraplegia occurs. Sensation in the lower limbs was lost.

If there are other serious complex injuries, active treatment should be given to save the life of the injured. Then conservative treatment and surgical treatment can be used depending on the stability of the spine.

1. Conservative treatment

It is suitable for simple compression fractures with height >50%, simple spinous process or transverse process fractures, and stable fractures without nerve damage.

2. Surgery

The goal is to relieve spinal nerve compression, correct deformities, and restore spinal stability. It is suitable for unstable spinal fractures, vertebral compression exceeding 1/2 and deformity angle greater than 20°. The methods include posterior pedicle screw fixation technique, anterior transabdominal surgery, and spinal nerve decompression surgery. In recent years, some scholars have also adopted percutaneous minimally invasive surgery.

According to the above statements, we know that lumbar fractures will definitely leave more or less sequelae, so we must pay special attention to this. In our daily living habits, we should have less irregular sitting postures and cannot sit in front of the computer all the time without moving at all. We can exercise our waist more in daily life, which is also beneficial to our muscles and bones. I hope the above suggestions can help you.