Fractures of the lumbar spine. Clinical and radiological results in 94 patients.

Sixty-six (70 per cent) of 94 patients with fracture of the lumbar spine (L2-L5), treated at the Central Hospital of Tampere in 1968--1975, were seen after an average interval of 5 years and 4 months. The mean age of the patients at the time of injury was 40.4 years. Somewhat less than half the fractures were sustained at home or in leisure hours and one third were due to traffic accidents. Two thirds were anterior wedge fractures. One patient died in the hospital of other injuries sustained in the same accident. Paraplegia was caused in one case, other neurological lesions in six cases. The treatment was mainly conservative and based on the principle of early functional exercises. Surgery was used in 2 cases of fracture-dislocation. The patients were mobilized after an average of 19 days. The mean duration of hospital treatment was 26 days. Seventy-nine per cent were able to return to work after an average of 3.6 months. No noteworthy changes in the neurological state occurred during follow-up. Half the followed-up patients considered the state of their back at least good. Poor end-results were more frequent in patients over 40 years old than in those under 40. Radiological deformities were more often observed in patients showing neurological symptoms. Increased interspinous distance and flexion or compression deformities had an unfavourable effect on the clinical result.