Chance fracture | 合法醫療器材資訊網

Chancefracturesalsoreferredtoasseatbeltfractures,areflexion-distractiontypeinjuriesofthespinethatextendtoinvolveallthreespinalcolumns.

Chance fractures also referred to as seatbelt fractures, are flexion-distraction type injuries of the spine that extend to involve all three spinal columns[1]. These are unstable injuries and have a high association with intra-abdominal injuries.

Chance fracture is also known as the "seatbelt fracture". The fracture typically occurs where the fulcrum is the seatbelt and the point of motion is the spine itself. Therefore, the spine tears apart in a horizontal fracture into the upper and lower parts. Thus, the anterior and middle columns fail in compression (moving together or in "flexion"), and the posterior column fails in distraction (moving apart). Bones often fracture before the ligaments because the ligaments have higher tensile strength than the bones 1.

This fracture most commonly occurs about the upper lumbar spine (with the th...