Spinal fractures in recreational bobsledders: an unexpected mechanism of injury

 

 Permissions and Reprints

ABSTRACT

Study design: Retrospective case series and literature review.

Objective: To report and discuss spinal fractures occurring in recreational bobsledders.

Summary of background data: Spinal fractures have been commonly described following traumatic injury during a number of recreational sports. Reports have focused on younger patients and typically involved high-impact sports or significant injuries. With an aging population and a wider array of recreational sports, spinal injuries may be seen after seemingly benign activities and without a high-impact injury.

Methods: A retrospective review of two patients and review of the literature was performed.

Results: Two patients with spinal fractures after recreational bobsledding were identified. Both patients, aged 57 and 54 years, noticed a simultaneous onset of severe back pain during a routine turn on a bobsled track. Neither was involved in a high-impact injury during the event. Both patients were treated conservatively with resolution of symptoms. An analysis of the bobsled track revealed that potential forces imparted to the rider may be greater than the yield strength of vertebral bone.

Conclusions: Older athletes may be at greater risk for spinal fracture associated with routine recreational activities. Bobsledding imparts large amounts of force during routine events and may result in spinal trauma. Older patients, notably those with osteoporosis or metabolic bone disease, should be educated about the risks associated with seemingly benign recreational sports.

• REFERENCES

• 1 Boden BP, Jarvis CG. 2008; Spinal injuries in sports. Neurol Clin 26 (1) 63-78
  CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
• 2 The National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center 2009 Spinal Cord Injury: facts and figures. University of Alabama. Available at: www.nscisc.uab.edu
  PubMedGoogle Scholar
• 3 Katoh S, Shinghu H, Ikata T et al. 1996; Sports-related spinal cord injury in Japan (from the nationwide spinal cord injury registry between 1990 and 1992). Spinal Cord 34 (7) 416-421
  CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
• 4 Boden BP, Prior C. 2005; Catastrophic spine injuries in sports. Curr Sports Med Rep 4 (1) 45-49
  PubMedGoogle Scholar
• 5 Ekin JA, Sinaki M. 1993; Vertebral compression fractures sustained during golfing: report of three cases. Mayo Clin Proc 68 (6) 566-570
  CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
• 6 Vaccaro AR, Baron EM, Sanfilippo J et al. 2006; Reliability of a novel classification system for thoracolumbar injuries: the Thoracolumbar Injury Severity Score. Spine 31 (Suppl. 11) S62-S69 Discussion S104
  CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
• 7 Patel AA, Vaccaro AR, Albert TJ et al. 2007; The adoption of a new classification system: time-dependent variation in interobserver reliability of the thoracolumbar injury severity score classification system. Spine 32 (3) E105-E110
  CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
• 8 Imai K, Ohnishi I, Yamamoto S et al. 2008; In vivo assessment of lumbar vertebral strength in elderly women using computed tomography-based nonlinear finite element model. Spine 33 (1) 27-32
  CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
• 9 Silva MJ. 2007; Biomechanics of osteoporotic fractures. Injury 38 (Suppl. 03) 69S-76S
  CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
• 10 Myers ER, Wilson SE. 1997; Biomechanics of osteoporosis and vertebral fracture. Spine 22 (Suppl. 24) 25S-31S
  CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
• 11 Hayes WC, Myers ER. 1995. Biomechanics of Fractures: Osteoporosis, Etiology, Diagnosis, Management.. Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott-Raven Publishers; 93-114
  Google Scholar
• 12 Schultz A, Andersson G, Ortengren R et al. 1982; Loads on the lumbar spine: validation of a biomechanical analysis by measurements of intradiscal pressures and myoelectric signals. J Bone Joint Surg Am 64 (5) 713-720
  PubMedGoogle Scholar
• 13 Bouxsein ML, Myers ER, Hayes WC. 1996. Biomechanics of Age-Related Fractures. Osteoporosis.. San Diego, Calif: Academic Press; 373-393
  Google Scholar
• 14 Riggs BL, Melton Iii 3rd LJ, Robb RA et al. 2004; Population-based study of age and sex differences in bone volumetric density, size, geometry, and structure at different skeletal sites. J Bone Mineral Res 19 (12) 1945-1954
  CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
• 15 McCalden RW, McGeough JA, Barker MB et al. 1993; Age-related changes in the tensile properties of cortical bone: the relative importance of changes in porosity, mineralization, and microstructure. J Bone Joint Surg Am 75 (8) 1193-1205
  PubMedGoogle Scholar
• 16 McCalden RW, McGeough JA, Court-Brown CM. 1997; Age-related changes in the compressive strength of cancellous bone: the relative importance of changes in density and trabecular architecture. J Bone Joint Surg Am 79 (3) 421-427
  PubMedGoogle Scholar
• 17 Mosekilde L, Mosekilde L, Danielson CC . 1987; Biomechanical competence of vertebral trabecular bone in relation to ash density and age in normal individuals. Bone 8 (2) 79-85
  CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar

• REFERENCE EDITORIAL PERSPECTIVE

• 1 Longo UG, Loppini M, Denaro L et al. 2012; Conservative management of patients with an osteoporotic vertebral fracture: a review of the literature. J Bone Joint Surg Br 94 (2) 152-157
  CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar