Translation-rotation spine injury

Last revised by Andrew Murphy on 2 Aug 2021

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Ibrahim D, Bell D, Knipe H, Translation-rotation spine injury. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 25 Apr 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-76665

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-76665

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/76665

rID:

76665

Article created:

26 Apr 2020, Dalia Ibrahim ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created Dalia Ibrahim had no recorded disclosures.

View Dalia Ibrahim's current disclosures

Last revised:

2 Aug 2021, Andrew Murphy ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Andrew Murphy had no recorded disclosures.

View Andrew Murphy's current disclosures

Revisions:

6 times, by 3 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Systems:

Spine, Trauma

Tags:

cases

Synonyms:

Translation spine fracture
Translation-rotation spine fracture
Rotation spine fractures

Translation-rotation spine injuries are severe injuries characterised by horizontal displacement or rotation of one vertebral body with respect to another.

unilateral or bilateral perched or dislocated facet joints
vertebral body subluxation/translation or rotation. Translational injury is best seen on lateral radiographs or sagittal CT or MR images, while the mediolateral instability is best seen on coronal images.
posterior ligamentous complex injuries:
- splaying of the spinous processes with widening of the interspinous space
- avulsion fractures of the superior or inferior aspects of contiguous spinous processes
common additional findings include transverse process and rib fractures

Practical points

Using the thoracolumbar injury classification and severity score (TLICS), results in 3 points for the morphology and 3 points for the PLC, making a total of 6 points, which indicates a need for surgical stabilisation.