What is a pedicle fracture?

Pedicle fractures predominantly occur as a surgical complication due to adjacent-segment disease or repetitive mechanical stress at the lumbar spine. The L5 vertebral pedicle is especially prone to fracture as a result of narrow and short anatomical conditions accompanied by high mechanical loads.

Will an MRI show spondylolysis?

When spondylolysis is seen on MRI, no further imaging is required. This applies to stress reaction in the pars, as well as to fractures. A false-positive MRI of the lumbar spine rarely occurs when active facet joint arthropathy with reactive marrow edema is seen in the pars interarticularis.

How long does it take for a pedicle fracture to heal?

A complete pain relief was obtained 3 weeks after the beginning of conservative treatment. The patient was allowed to resume all his activities after 6 months. On follow-up assessment at 30 months, the patient was back to full activities, including sportive activities at school. He had no residual low back pain.

Where is the pedicle located?

lumbar spine
In the lumbar spine, the portion that connects the posterior elements with the vertebral body is named as the pedicle, and the portion located between the superior and inferior facets as the par interarticularis or isthmus.

Can MRI Miss spondylolisthesis?

However, studies have reported that MRI misses up to 30 % of spondylolysis that were diagnosed on CT scan [11]. In contrast, others have reported that MRI is an accurate diagnostic tool for the evaluation of spondylolysis and have recommended the use of MRI as a first-line study. Campbell et al.

Does spondylolysis ever heal?

How long does it take to recover from Spondylolysis? These stress fractures often heal in about 6-12 weeks with proper rest, anti-inflammatory medications, activity modification, and physical therapy. Healing time varies between individuals based on their overall health.

Is spondylolysis permanent?

Spondylolysis causes back pain but is treatable, usually without surgery. Treatments such as medication and physical therapy are most successful when started early, so see your doctor if you or your child has back pain.

Can spondylolysis cause pedicular fracture?

Pedicle fractures also occurred following contralateral isthmic spondylolysis, secondary to a weakening of the neural arch with resulting increased stress across the contralateral pedicle [1, 2, 4]. Unilateral spondylolysis associated with pedicular fracture has been described in competitive sport patients [2, 5, 10].

Can MRI be used to diagnose early stage spondylolysis?

The correlation between the high stresses in the pedicle and the corresponding HSC suggest that signal changes in MRI could be used as an indicator for early diagnosis of spondylolysis. The HSC of the pedicle provided useful information to diagnose early stage spondylolysis.

What is L5 pedicle fracture with pre-existing contralateral spondylolysis?

Abstract Acute unilateral L5 pedicle fracture associated with a pre-existing contralateral spondylolysis is a rare lesion. Stress fracture of the vertebral pedicle in the lumbar spine associated with contralateral spondylolysis are already described in the literature [1–8, 10], especially in competitive sport patients.

Does contralateral spondylolysis cause stress fracture of the vertebral pedicle?

Stress fracture of the vertebral pedicle in the lumbar spine associated with contralateral spondylolysis are already described in the literature [1–8, 10], especially in competitive sport patients. This lesion has not been described previously during childhood.