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Fractures of the lumbar spine

Amadeo Beraun
College of Southern Idaho
Anatomical Foundations
Jonathan Lord




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Everything that we do in our normal everyday lives is dependent on many of our
biological systems. If even one of these biological systems is damaged or partially inhibited we
will be unable to perform to our full extent or maybe even not at all. The most important system
that our body revolves around is the nervous system, without out it we are unable to function due
to the fact that it basically tells every other system what to do. It has a huge role in our biological
systems, one in particular that we most notice when an injury of the spine occurs is the muscular
system. For the case of a spinal injury the observations that we take from it is that each section of
the spine operates its own specific region and uses efferent and afferent signals to activate the
muscles. When the spinal cord is damaged the muscles will receive either a weak signal or no
signal, depending on the severity of the injury.
Losing the ability to walk is something that I can barely even imagine, its quite terrifying
when you really think about it. What causes paralysis of the lower extremities? Well the lumbar
region of the spine is responsible for the lower region of the body so if damage occurs to the
lumbar region so much so that it affects the spinal cord, then partial or full paralysis can result.
The cauda equina or horsetail, as some people put it, is the branching of the spinal cord that
begins in the lumbar region. If even one of these branches becomes damaged the risk of paralysis
increases for the area that it signals. With fractures of the lumbar region we dont usually assume
paralysis unless the fracture is extremely severe and breaks through the posterior wall of the
vertebrae. Everyday activities are dependent on our lumbar region, the ironic part is that its very
easy to damage, especially because of the load it supports just from being on the bottom portion
of the spine.
What causes fractures of the lumbar spine? That is a question that can be answered with a
list longer than this whole paper. To keep it short, fractures occur because of the different
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application of forces applied to certain points on the vertebrae. In most severe fractures of the
lumbar region people will notice that a movement of flexion and rotation occurring
simultaneously is the cause, and that it occurs in the thoracolumbar region. This region is most
common because of the major change in functional movement from thoracic to lumbar. Another
cause of people receiving fractures is their susceptibility towards them. Some people are born
with bone diseases, or they develop them over time, most of us will develop a form of
osteoporosis or arthritis in our elderly years. Even women going through pregnancy have
increased risks. All of these conditions put people at higher risk for fractures of the lumbar spine.
How does someone go about preventing the occurrence of fractures in the lumbar spine?
The main idea to take away from prevention of the injury is that tissue stiffness is the key to
lowering the risk of fractures. If you have a notebook hanging from the ceiling with a thin rubber
band its more likely to yield sooner than if you had a thicker rubber band to support the weight
of the notebook. In most cases prevention of injury depends on strengthening the tissues of the
abdominals or the erector spinae. In hyper lordosis the lumbar region has more extension than
normal and requires stronger abdominals. In hypo lordosis the lumbar region has more flexion
than normal and requires stronger erector spinae. Practicing good posture is another effective
way for injury prevention because good posture promotes normal lordosis of the lumbar region.
With good posture the abdominals and erector spinae are activated properly.
What is the preferred treatment for fractures of the lumbar spine? The type of treatment
depends on the severity of the fracture. For acute fractures a simple external brace will suffice in
order to support the spine during recovery, and for severe fractures surgery will often be
recommended with the implant of an internal brace. How does someone recover from fractures
of the lumbar spine? After surgery the patient with a lumbar fracture will experience limited
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movement as well as pain. In order to get the patient back to normal working order with little or
no pain the patient will go through physical therapy. In physical therapy, the physical therapist
will apply many methods that have been used to relieve pain, such as manual therapy (massage).
They will prescribe exercises to their patients in order to strengthen up the tissues that become
weak after prolonged limited function. The recovery phase of the injury is intended to teach the
patient how to recover, and how to prevent future reoccurrence of the injury.













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