FRACTURES OF LUMBAR VERTEBRA DUE TO HYPEREXTENSION AND EXTREME MUSCULAR ACTION

Compression fractures of the bodies of the vertebrae due to forced hyperflexion of the spine are of common occurrence. They are usually the result of a fall from a height or of other severe trauma. Because fractures of the vertebrae are usually associated with severe trauma, many fractures are overlooked if there is no history of a severe trauma or if there are no neurologic symptoms. Owing to the fact that fractures of the vertebrae occur as a result of sudden hyperextension and of extreme muscular action, and in the absence of any apparent severe trauma, they are frequently not diagnosed but are treated as back strain or sacro-iliac strain. Frequently, when there is a history of so slight a trauma and little objective and subjective evidence of injury, a roentgenogram may seem to some an unnecessary expense. Such cases are treated as back strain over a period of months