Advanced Compressive Extension Injuries of the Subaxial Cervical Spine: Do we really understand the nuances of this injury?

The Allen and Ferguson classification of cervical spine injuries is widely used. They described compressive Extension (CE) injuries as having five progressive stages. Stage 4(CE4) and 5(CE5) have been described as having a posterior vertebral arch fracture involving two motion segments accompanied by displacement (dislocation) of the vertebral body at a single level. However, in their original work, CE4 was described only as a hypothetical stage, while CE5 was found in only 3 patients. Beyond this, little is understood about these injuries.

Source: The Spine Journal - February 18, 2021 Category: Orthopaedics Authors: Eric Rebich, Celeste Tavolaro, Jie Yao, Haitao Zhou, Julie Agel, Richard Bransford, Carlo Bellabarba Tags: Clinical Study Source Type: research