Vertebral fractures caused by speed humps on the road: a cross-sectional study.

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INTRODUCTION: traumatic spinal injuries account for nearly 700,000 new cases annually worldwide and are most commonly associated with high-energy trauma. An uncommon mechanism was reported as thoracolumbar fractures in bus passengers after vehicles crossed speed humps. Subsequent reports have documented similar injuries, typically a?ecting the thoracolumbar spine and passengers seated in the rear rows. Despite the widespread use of speed humps as tra?c-calming devices, their potential role in vertebral fractures remains poorly explored and may represent an underrecognized mechanism of spinal injury. OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the experience of Latin American spine surgeons with thoracolumbar fractures in bus passengers caused by road speed humps. MATERIAL AND METHODS: a cross-sectional survey was conducted among spine surgeons in Latin America between February and March 2025. Participants were recruited through a non-probabilistic snowball sampling method using the AOSpine database. An online questionnaire explored: 1) demographic and professional background; 2) experience with thoracolumbar trauma; and 3) cases attributed specifically to speed humps. RESULTS: of 224 responses received, 165 complete surveys were analyzed. Respondents were predominantly male (94.5%), orthopedic surgeons (67.9%), and had over five years of spinal surgery experience (73.9%). The highest response rates came from Chile (30.9%), Mexico (18.2%), Brazil (15.8%), and Argentina (13.3%). Most surgeons acknowledged speed humps as common urban traffic measures and had encountered thoracolumbar fractures resulting from them. Only 9.7% had never treated such cases. The typical patient was female (67.9%), older than 45 years (72.7%), with isolated thoracolumbar fractures (84.2%) located between T10 and L2, without neurological injury (87.8%), and most commonly classified as type A fractures (93.3%). The most frequently reported vehicle position at the time of injury was the last row of bus seats (53.9%). CONCLUSION: spine surgeons in several Latin American countries report clinical experience with thoracolumbar fractures related to speed humps, a mechanism of injury underrepresented in current literature. These findings highlight the need for increased awareness and preventive measures in public transportation safety.

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