Lumbar transverse process fractures in professional football players.
In the general population, fractures of the transverse processes of lumbar vertebrae occur in cases of high-energy blunt trauma, often in motor vehicle accidents. Football players may incur the same fractures, but the circumstances and outcomes are different in this specific subgroup. A review of 29 cases among National Football League players reveals that associated visceral injuries are rare, and the time lost from sports is only an average of 3.5 weeks.
Tewes
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Minneapolis Sports Medicine Center, MN 55454, USA.
Fischer
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Quick
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Zamberletti
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Powell
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D005538:Football / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000293:injuries*; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D016103:Spinal Fractures / Q000209:etiology; D014481:United States