The study is an international, multicenter, randomized controlled trial. 202 patients with a single level TL burst fracture will be enrolled in the study. They will be randomized 1:1 to either surgery with posterior fixation or non-surgical treatment. The study is pragmatical in its approach, i.e., the treating physician can decide on details of the surgical treatment as well as details of the non-surgical treatment. In non-surgically treated patients brace treatment is not required, but a hyperextension brace may be offered. The subjects will be followed with patient reported outcomes, clinical assessments, and radiological assessments. Data will be collected from questionnaires, patient files or national registers to compare sick leave, medical complications, pharmaceutical prescriptions and overall costs for each treatment.
Thoracolumbar (TL) burst fractures are seen in all ages and usually associated with high-energy trauma. Treatment include both surgical and non-surgical options. In cases without neurological deficit or definite rupture of the posterior ligament complex (PLC) both surgical treatment and non-surgical treatment are considered standard of care. This study aims to compare outcome between surgical and non-surgical in patients with a single level TL burst fracture (AO A3/4) in a randomized controlled trial (RCT).