Avulsion of the L4 spinous process: an unusual injury in a professional rugby player: case report.

STUDY DESIGN: A case of L4 spinous process avulsion following a hyperflexion injury treated with surgical excision.

OBJECTIVE: To show that single photon emission computerized tomography is essential for the diagnosis and that excision can provide a successful outcome.

SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: The avulsion resulted from a forced hyperflexion injury at the L4/5 area, where the interspinous ligament provides a high resistance to flexion.

METHODS: A 29-year-old international rugby football player injured his low back during a match. Plain radiography and magnetic resonance imaging did not reveal the injury. Single photon emission computerized tomography and computerized tomography showed the lesion.

RESULTS: Initial conservative therapy failed to control the symptoms, and, therefore, late excision was performed with pain-free return to contact sports at 3 months.

CONCLUSIONS: Few cases of interspinous process avulsions have been described, and, to our knowledge, this is the first reported case of rugby football player who had a successful outcome with late surgical excision.