Fractures of the cervical spine in ankylosing spondylitis.

In the years 1965-1982, 33 patients with traumatic cervical spine injury in ankylosing spondylitis were treated in the Spinal Department of the Rehabilitation Clinic at Konstancin, Poland. This paper describes the causes of vertebral injury, the level and degree of spinal cord damage and the method and results of treatment. Injury of the ankylosed spine is often a consequence of minor trauma, such as a stumble in the street, but the damage to the spinal cord is often complete or extensive. Complete injuries of the spinal cord with subsequent disturbance of the autonomic system are likely to lead to the development of respiratory disorders, aggravated by the pathological changes associated with ankylosing spondylitis when the chest is fixed in the exhaling position. This may often lead to death.