Description

A 40-year-old man was brought to the emergency department after a fall while working at a construction site. He fell off a scaffold, 25 m high, but was saved by his safety harness. As the patient was hanging in the harness at a height of 8 m, the lanyard suddenly tore and he fell on a concrete floor.

He reported a severe lower back pain but was able to walk at the scene. On examination he was fully conscious and vitally stable. The patient had normal motor power in all four limbs with no sensory deficit. The palpation of the back revealed prominence of the 1st and 2nd lumbar spinous processes area as well as an increased gap between the 12th thoracic and 1st lumbar spinous processes (figure 1).