Thoracolumbar spine fracture epidemiology

see Thoracolumbar spine fracture

According to statistics, fractures of the thoracolumbar region (Th11-Th12-L1) account for almost 90% of all vertebral fractures and, moreover, approximately 50% of fractures are compression fractures of the Th12 or L1 vertebra ¹⁾ ²⁾ ³⁾

There are approximately 15,000 Thoracolumbar spine fractures each year in the U.S., and nearly 1/3 of these injuries are associated with a neurologic injury.

The majority of thoracolumbar injuries occur at the T11-L1 level, which is the transitional zone between the relatively immobile thoracic spine and flexible lumbar spine. A low-energy injury is more likely to cause an injury to the intervertebral disc, yet a high-energy trauma such as a motor vehicle accident or fall is more likely to fracture the bone. Thoracolumbar spine fractures and dislocations are typically classified according to their injury/fracture pattern, as described by Denis.

see Thoracolumbar burst fracture.

¹⁾

Holmes J. F., Miller P. Q., Panacek E. A., Lin S., Horne N. S., Mower W. R. Epidemiology of thoracolumbar spine injury in blunt trauma. Academic Emergency Medicine . 2001;8(9):866–872. doi: 10.1111/j.1553-2712.2001.tb01146.x.

²⁾

Bensch F. V., Koivikko M. P., Kiuru M. J., Koskinen S. K. The incidence and distribution of burst fractures. Emergency Radiology . 2006;12(3):124–129. doi: 10.1007/s0010140-005-0457-5.

³⁾

Rosenthal B. D., Boody B. S., Jenkins T. J., Hsu W. K., Patel A. A., Savage J. W. Thoracolumbar burst fractures. Clinical Spine Surgery . 2018;31(4):143–151. doi: 10.1097/BSD.0000000000000634.