Thoracolumbar fractures without neurological impairment

The incidence of thoracolumbar spinal injuries in the United States has been increasing in recent years, especially as a result of motor vehicle crashes.1 The same trend has been observed with increasing incidence between 2001 and 2007 in China. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of spinal trauma followed by falls from a height. In a large Chinese series by Liu et al2 which included 82 720 patients with spinal trauma, it has been demonstrated that the lumbar spine is the area most frequently involved (56%), followed by thoracic spine (23.7%), cervical spine (17.7%) and sacrococcygeal spine (2.3%). In 2010, a Swedish group published an epidemiological study of thoracolumbar fractures between 1997 and 2001 which were registered in Sweden. They described an incidence of 13 per 100 000 inhabitants in patients younger than 60 years, mainly as a result of traffic accidents and falls from a height.3. Due to improved traffic safety standards and health care resources, mortality from this type of injury has decreased, but not the number of injured patients needing treatment.4 We therefore think it is necessary to work out the ideal management of thoracolumbar fractures, focussing on patients without neurological impairment.