Sporting activity after burst fractures of the thoracic and lumbar spine A retrospective clinical trial

Abstract

Reviewing the international literature, there are only a few papers dealing with the problem of sporting ability after spinal surgery, except some individual case reports. A retrospective clinical trial was initiated to analyze sporting activity and performance after surgical treatment of spinal fractures. The study was designed as a retrospective clinical trial. The patients were followed-up clinically or they were interviewed on phone. Sporting activity and performance level were measured by a self-developed score adapted to the Seto classification. The results in the group of burst fracture patients are presented. 35 out of 104 surgically treated patients fulfilled all criteria of the study, 29 of them could be followed-up. After scoring the sporting activity and the performance level, the results showed that sports like table tennis, jogging, soccer, handball and volleyball are often stopped after the surgical treatment. Downhill skiing, swimming, biking and athletics can be continued, even on a higher performance level than before surgery. Sporting activity is an important part of quality of life in the age group from 20 to 40 years. The data of the study show, that a stable spine after a severe burst fracture allows sporting activity on an equal or even higher level than before.