Spinal Injuries
Spinal injury can be devastating for the patient and their family. It can be a big economic burden for families and society. Most spinal injury patients are young and injuries are usually caused by road traffic accidents, falls from heights, or by acts of violence. Injury can occur in any part of the spine. Spinal injury can be with or without neuro-deficit and with or without instability; for this reason, in these patients, clinical and radiological evaluations are very important. Management ranges from simple immobilization to complex decompression and stabilization. The early part of this chapter will discuss the history and epidemiology of spinal injury, the three-column theory of spinal stability, the clinical and radiological evaluation of spinal injury patients, and the classification of spinal injury. The later part of this chapter will briefly demonstrate the principles of management of specific types of spinal injury, as well as their complications and outcome prediction.
