External electrical stimulation and bracing for treatment of spondylolysis. A case report

Evidence indicates that osseous healing of acute spondylolysis can occur without surgery, although no existing data supports a particular regimen that optimizes healing. This article presents a case study of a 17-year-old athletic male student who presented with acute spondylolysis and who was treated with intermittent bracing and daily external electric stimulation. The patient was treated with a thoracic lumbar sacral orthosis to which an external bone growth stimulator was added. Computer tomography scans performed throughout the treatment process and described in this report illustrate the progressive healing of the right and left pars fractures.