Acute traumatic cord injury associated with ossified ligamentum flavum

Ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF) is an uncommon condition, which usually occurs amongst people of Asian descent, and most commonly in the thoracic spine region. Whilst often asymptomatic, OLF can cause spinal canal stenosis, with patients presenting with back pain, posterior cord syndrome or myelopathy. We present a rare case of acute spinal cord injury associated with OLF after a kite surfing accident, with the resulting paraplegia partially improved after decompression was performed. The prevalence, presentation and management of OLF are also discussed.