Limitations in clinical outcome after posterior stabilization of thoracolumbar fractures do not correlate with dynamic trunk muscle dysfunction: an ultrasound controlled prospective cohort study

Background and Purpose Posterior stabilization of the spine is associated with iatrogenic muscle damage. This is discussed to represent an important cause of postoperative pain, especially in open reduction and fixation. The aim of this study was to visualize muscular changes after open or percutaneous posterior stabilization of traumatic thoracolumbar spine fractures and to investigate whether or not these changes are related to the clinical outcome. Methods This prospective cohort study was performed between 05/2012 and 10/2014. A group of posteriorly stabilized patients (study group; SG) with traumatic fractures (AOSpine Type A3 or A4) of the thoracolumbar junction (T11–L2) without neurological deficit were matched to a healthy control group (CG) by age, gender and body mass index. Follow-up: 12 months after surgery. Parameters: muscle size, voluntary muscular activation (VMA) using a standardized ultrasound protocol and standardized questionnaires (VAS Spine Score; ODI; SF-36) were analyzed. Statistics: SPSS (Version 20, 76 Chicago, IL, USA). T test, Chi squared test, analysis of variance and a correlation analysis were performed. Significance level was at p  0.07; NS). Conclusion In surgically treated A3 and A4 fractures, there is continuous muscular deficit 1 year after surgery as documented by ultrasound and clinical control. But, by means of our study we conclude that those muscular deficits alone seem not to be decisive for the clinical outcome 1 year after surgery