Skip to main content

Fracture, Pelvic, Sports Medicine

David Carfagno, DO, CAQSM and Timothy Perdue, DO Reviewed 04/2019
 


BASICS

DESCRIPTION

  • Most common mechanism of injury is motor vehicle accidents.

  • 3% of skeletal injuries, mortality between 5% and 16%, higher in elderly populations

  • The most widely used classification sch...

DIAGNOSIS

  • In awake patients, pain on palpation of the sacrum and SI joints has the highest sensitivity (98%) for posterior pelvic ring fractures 1[A].

  • Multidetector computer tomography (MDCT) is the go...

TREATMENT

GENERAL MEASURES

  • LC I/AP I:

    • Protected weight-bearing on the affected side and treated conservatively with bed rest, analgesics, and comfort measures

    • Further surgical treatment may be needed if ...

ONGOING CARE

COMPLICATIONS

  • Vascular injury leading to blood loss

  • Closed head injuries

  • Visceral injury (bladder and urethral, small bowel, diaphragm)

  • Nerve injury

  • Deep venous thrombosis

  • Atelectasis/pneumonia

  • ...

REFERENCES

1
McCormick JP, Morgan SJ, Smith WR. Clinical effectiveness of the physical examination in diagnosis of posterior pelvic ring injuries. J Orthop Trauma.  2003;17(4):257–261.
2
Mohseni S, ...

CLINICAL PEARLS

  • Most common mechanism of injury is motor vehicle accidents, so assess the pelvis in victims of such accidents.

  • Significant vascular injury can accompany pelvic fractures, so rapid diagn...

Subscribe to Access Full Content

Sign Up for a 10-Day Free Trial

Sign up for a 10-day FREE Trial now and receive full access to all content.

×