Are spine injuries sustained in battle truly different?

Battle spine injury and NBSI are separate entities that may ultimately have disparate long-term prognoses. Nonbattle spine injury patients, although having similar MOIs compared with civilian spinal trauma, maintain a different patient demographic. Further research must be directed at accurately quantifying the long-term disabilities of all spine injuries sustained in a combat theater, whether they are the result of battle or not. Blair JA, Patzkowski JC, Schoenfeld AJ, Cross Rivera JD, Grenier ES, Lehman RA, Hsu JR; Skeletal Trauma Research Consortium (STReC). Spine J. 2011 Oct 13. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 22000726