Jumper's fracture of the sacrum: a novel and reproducible way for successful reduction and fixation.

Purpose: Surgical treatment of jumper's fractures is a highly demanding situation for the surgeon due to its rareness and frequent association with severe concomitant injuries. There is no current consensus regarding a standard treatment approach, thus reducing quality of care. Our objectives were to describe, apply and assess a novel surgical technic.

Methods: The presented research is an observational retrospective study of patients who underwent the described novel surgical intervention in a level 1 trauma center. We conducted analyses of the patient cohort using patient-related outcome measures at least 1 year after surgery, as well as investigating pain, quality of life and the clinical effectiveness of the procedure.

Results: A total of 24 patients (17 male and 7 female) with an average age 47 ± 16.3 years were included. ISS scores ranged from 9 to 66 with a mean ISS of 40 ± 15. Clinical scores exist of 15 out of 24 patients (62.5%). The mean VAS score was 53.7 ± 12.9. The mean EQ-5D index was 0.68 ± 0.22. Significant negative correlation existed between the ISS value and the EQ-5D index (r =  - 0.704; p < 0.005) and EQ-5D VAS (r =  - 0.809; p < 0.001). Anatomical reduction was achieved in all patients (n = 24). Radiological follow-up was performed in 58%.

Conclusion: We present one of the largest studies with operatively treated jumper's fractures of the sacrum. The technique is capable of reproducibly restoring the physiological anatomy of the patient and allows pain-adapted mobilization.