- Thoracic and lumbar spine injuries
A fall or traffic accident can cause severe ribcage injuries. It can lead to thoracic spine fracture, but lumbar spine fracture in the lower back can also occur. If the bones are already weakened due to osteoporosis, for example, even less severe falls may cause fractures. In extreme cases, the spine can even be fractured spontaneously.
Adults often injure themselves due to falls, for example, in motorbike or mountain bike accidents. Contact sports such as ice hockey and football also carry a high-risk. You can even severely injure yourself while riding a horse or diving head-first into unchecked waters.
Infants and small children may sustain severe injuries to their cervical spine from car collisions or bumping into things head-on.
Even harmless falls may be enough to cause spinal fractures in the elderly. In addition, patients with Bekhterev’s disease have a greater risk of suffering from spinal fractures after falls.