[VadimAkh]

#6326

Hello Dear Dr. Corenman!
Before discharge from hospital to home medical treatment my doctor warned me about possible damage to posterior ligaments (maybe interspinous ligaments) at the level of the vertebral compression fracture. I forgot to ask description of MRI, but I have the conclusion of the MRI in which nothing written about ligaments. Conclusion MRI: compression fracture of the body Th11 without significant deformation and narrowing of the spinal canal. MRI images posted on Internet at //
Tell me please, for these pictures can you see the damage or rupture of ligaments or not? Thanks a lot in advance.

[Donald Corenman, MD, DC]

#6328

You had a compression fracture of T11 and you are worried about the posterior ligaments (intraspinous, supraspinous and capsular) as your physician reported potential injury to these structures.

In general, these ligaments are important in fracture stabilization if the amount of compression of the anterior vertebra is more than 30% and generally more than 50%. These ligaments act as a posterior tether to prevent the injured vertebra from angulating too much forward. The amount of “crush” of the anterior vertebral body during the injury will place greater strain on this ligament complex and can tear them.

This injury will show up as a greater angulation than anticipated on a standing lateral X-ray with gapping or splaying of the spinous processes involved.

The MRI is a good tool to look for injury. The sagittal STIR sequences are used and the injury will show up as a white signal in the normally dark gray or black ligaments.

I cannot open your films to view them.

Dr. Corenman

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.
 
Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.

[VadimAkh]

#6330

Thank you Dr. Corenman for your answer! Why you can not open my MR images? I can’t post URL with http prefix here… Just copy and paste this string … in the address bar of web browser to open a simple internet page with my MR images in jpeg format. Your help would be greatly appreciated!

[Donald Corenman, MD, DC]

#6331

Well- I finally understand how to look at your images. I have deleted the link so you remain anonymous.

You have a compression fracture of T11. There is no apparent injury to the posterior ligaments. There is no significant kyphosis of the fracture area (a good finding). There may be a slight burst component to the fracture but this is not important.

If you were my patient, I would put you in an extension TLSO brace or a Jewett brace for 10-12 weeks to prevent deformity when the fracture is healing.

Dr. Corenman

PLEASE REMEMBER, THIS FORUM IS MEANT TO PROVIDE GENERAL INFORMATION ON SPINE ANATOMY, CONDITIONS AND TREATMENTS. TO GET AN ACCURATE DIAGNOSIS, YOU MUST VISIT A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL IN PERSON.
 
Donald Corenman, MD, DC is a highly-regarded spine surgeon, considered an expert in the area of neck and back pain. Trained as both a Medical Doctor and Doctor of Chiropractic, Dr. Corenman earned academic appointments as Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and his research on spine surgery and rehabilitation has resulted in the publication of multiple peer-reviewed articles and two books.

[VadimAkh]

#6333

Thank you very much for your help!

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