Computed tomography of spinal injuries

Computed tomography images are free of superpositional effects. Therefore, today CT represents the most effective method of evaluating spinal fractures. Clear imaging of the vertebral elements provides a sufficient analysis of stability in most cases. Moreover, in the polytraumatized patient, every region of the body can be evaluated without new positioning. Thus, the sequence of therapy may become obvious within a reasonable amount of time. The 3-column theory has proved to be very effective for evaluation of the remaining stability in spinal fractures.