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Fracture, Sacral, Sports Medicine

Rebecca Bacharach, DO Reviewed 04/2019
 


BASICS

  • Sacral injuries are rare, but most authors believe that sacral fractures are generally underrecognized.

  • A high degree of suspicion is required to make the diagnosis:

    • Only 10–30% of sacral fractur...

DIAGNOSIS

Prehospital: 
  • Traumatic sacral fractures typically occur in the multitrauma patient.

  • Initial assessment and treatment should proceed as per Advanced Trauma Life Support for patients with suspe...

TREATMENT

  • Acute fracture:

    • See below for surgical indications.

    • Stable injuries without neurologic involvement treated with initial bed rest and gradual ambulation and activity advancement as tolerated:

      • Fr...

ONGOING CARE

Sacral stress or insufficiency fractures may be a bellwether for underlying metabolic bone disease: 
  • Bone density testing or other laboratory evaluation should be considered.

DIET

Patients w...

REFERENCES

1
Beckmann NM, Chinapuvvula NR. Sacral fractures: classification and management. Emerg Radiol.  2017;24(6):605–617.
2
Kaneko H, Murakami M, Nishizawa K. Prevalence and clinical features o...

ADDITIONAL READING

  • Kuklo TR, Potter BK, Ludwig SC, et al. Radiographic measurement techniques for sacral fractures consensus statement of the Spine Trauma Study Group. Spine (Phila Pa 1976).  200...

CLINICAL PEARLS

  • Consider sacral injury in any acute injury resulting in other pelvic or spinal injury.

  • Consider sacral injury in chronic cases of low back, thigh, or buttock pain.

  • Sacral fractures are t...

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