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. 2024 Jan 23:4:102762.
doi: 10.1016/j.bas.2024.102762. eCollection 2024.

Return to sports/activity level after 360° thoracolumbar fusion after burst fractures in young patients

Fabian Cedric Aregger  1 , Sebastian Kreuzer  2 , Sonja Häckel  1   3 , Sebastian Frederick Bigdon  1 , Christian Tinner  1 , Georg Erbach  1 , Moritz Caspar Deml  1 , Christoph Emanuel Albers  1
Affiliations

Return to sports/activity level after 360° thoracolumbar fusion after burst fractures in young patients

Fabian Cedric Aregger et al. Brain Spine. .

Abstract

Introduction: Traumatic thoracolumbar burst fractures are the most common spinal injuries and the proper treatment is controversial. In central Europe in particular, these fractures are often treated with minimally invasive anterior-posterior reduction and fusion, whereas a conservative approach is preferred in the USA. Independent of the treatment strategy, no data exists regarding the outcome related to return to activity level/sport.

Research question: The aim of this study was to evaluate the return to sports and activity levels after 360° fusion in patients with thoracolumbar burst fractures without neurological deficits.

Methods: Between January 2013 and December 2022, 46 patients aged 18 to 40 years underwent partial or complete vertebral body replacement in the thoracolumbar region due to traumatic burst fractures without neurologic deficit as an isolated injury. Patients were contacted retrospectively by phone calls to assess their activities using a modified version of the Tegner activity scale at different time points: Before trauma, 3, 6, and 12 months post-surgery.

Results: After applying exclusion criteria, data collection was complete for 28 patients. The median modified Tegner activity scale was 5.4 before sustaining the fracture, declined to 2.9 at three months post-trauma, improved to 4.2 at six months, and reached 5.0 at 12 months. The majority (83%) of patients achieved their pre-accident activity level within 12 months. No significant differences were observed between patients with partial or complete corpectomy.

Conclusion: This is the first study assessing return to sports/physical activity based on the modified Tegner scale in young patients undergoing 360° fusion for spinal burst fractures. The majority of patients (83%) return to the pre-injury activity level within 12 months after surgery.

Keywords: 360° fusion; Burst fractures; Return to sports; Return to work; Spinal injuries.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Modified Tegner Scale.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Flowchart.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Activity Level according to Modified Tegner Activity Scale over 12 months after injury compared between partial and complete corpectomy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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