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Study reports explosions are primary reason for spinal injuries in military personnel

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Although spinal injuries constitute more than 5% of injuries sustained by American soldiers in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, 56% of those injuries were due to explosions, according to Texas researchers.

Researchers reviewed 8 years of data on 10,979 evacuated combat casualties and found that 5.45%, or 598, of injuries were spine-related, according to the abstract. Personnel often had face, head, chest and abdomen injuries in addition to spine injuries and the spinal cord was also damaged in 17% of cases. Fifty-three percent of gunshot wounds that led to a spinal injury also damaged the spinal cord.

“When a person survives an explosion or vehicle collision, there has still been a great deal of force on the body,” James A. Blair, MD, orthopedic surgery chief resident at Brooke Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, Texas, stated in a press release. “Many of those survivors are coming to us with severe injuries to their spine and back. We needed to describe and characterize these injuries so recommendations can be made on how to provide the most effective treatment and rehabilitation for our wounded warriors.”

Motor vehicle collisions were responsible for 29% of injuries and injuries from gunshots comprised 15% of spine injuries. Ninety-two percent of all the injuries in the study were fractures, according to the abstract. Personnel were enlisted when injured 90% of the time and 84% sustained their injuries during combat.

“In these current military conflicts, the latest technologies in body armor, helmets and other protective devices have helped save many soldiers' lives," Blair said. “We also have access to advanced life-saving techniques in the field and medical evacuation strategies that are keeping many more service members alive.”

Reference:

Blair JA, Patzkowski JC, Schoenfeld AJ, et al. Spinal column injuries among Americans in the Global War on Terrorism. J Bone Joint Surg. 2012;94:e135(1-9). doi:10.2106/JBJS.K.00502.

Disclosure: Blair has no relevant financial disclosures.