[Injuries of the lumbosacral segments of the spine]

Having studied 470 case histories of patients with injuries of the spine the author found traumas of the 5th lumbar vertebra in 23 cases (4.9%). The characteristic injuries were compression wedge-shaped fractures, multiple fractures of the vertebrae, comminuted and traumatic spondylolistheses and dislocation fractures. A typical mechanism of the injury was a blow in the lumbar region or in the back with subsequent bending of the trunk. The tactics of surgical treatment of such lesions is presented, the main tasks of which are the reconstruction of the shape and the volume of the vertebral canal, the stabilization of the basis compartment of the spine and the prevention of subsequent degenerative changes.