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Review
. 2001 Oct;44(5):337-45.

Trauma to the thoracic and lumbar spine in the adolescent

P Clark  1 , M Letts
Affiliations
Review

Trauma to the thoracic and lumbar spine in the adolescent

P Clark et al. Can J Surg. 2001 Oct.

Abstract
in English, French

During adolescence the spine undergoes rapid growth and changes in anatomy and biomechanical properties. Fractures of the adolescent spine are relatively uncommon but may give rise to serious problems. This review describes thoracolumbar fractures in adolescents with respect to epidemiology, anatomy, mechanisms of injury, clinical and radiologic assessment, and nonoperative and operative treatment. The treatment of these injuries follows many of the same principles as spinal fractures in adults but nonoperative treatment is used more frequently because there is less spinal instability and better tolerance of bed rest and spinal immobilization in this young population.

La croissance de la colonne vertébrale est rapide et ses caractéristiques anatomiques et biomécaniques changent au cours de l’adolescence. Les fractures de la colonne au cours de l’adolescence sont relativement rares, mais elles peuvent entraîner de graves problèmes. Cette analyse critique décrit l’épidémiologie, l’anatomie, les mécanismes traumatisants, l’évaluation clinique et radiologique, ainsi que le traitement chirurgical et non chirurgical de fractures de la colonne thoracolombaire chez des adolescents. Le traitement de ces traumatismes suit un grand nombre des mêmes principes que dans le cas de fracture de la colonne chez les adultes, mais on utilise plus souvent le traitement non chirurgical parce que la colonne de ces jeunes sujets est moins instable et tolère mieux le repos au lit et l’immobilisation vertébrale.

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