Fig. 2.

Twenty-three-year-old male who fell from a height. A. Sagittal STIR image in midline shows burst morphology of L2 fracture, with retropulsion of the posterior vertebral body cortex. Loss of vertebral body height is <50%. Kyphosis measured 5° using the method of Cobb, from 1 level above the injury to 1 level below. All radiology readers agreed that the posterior ligamentous complex is intact (arrows). There is increased signal intensity of the anterior longitudinal ligament (arrowhead) consistent with sprain due to compression, but there is no fluid signal to indicate ligament discontinuity. There was no neurologic deficit. TLICS score is 2. Denis grading is 2 column injury. AO grading is A3. Load sharing classification based on CT (not shown) is mild comminution (score of 1), and minimal axial spreading (score of 1), total score 2. B. Initial upright lateral radiograph shows the kyphosis has increased to 10° compared to 5° on supine MRI. C. Final lateral radiograph, obtained 3 months after injury, shows kyphosis has increased to 16°, for an overall increase in kyphosis of 11° compared to the initial supine MRI.