Abstract
1. The late consequences of stable fractures of the thoracic and lumbar spine have been assessed in a series of workmen. The incidence of symptoms has been recorded and an attempt made to assess the degree of associated incapacity.
2. It has been found that most patients continue to have some symptoms attributable to the back injury and that approximately one in five of the patients who attended for review was partially or completely incapacitated as a consequence of such symptoms.
3. The persistence of symptoms was found to be unrelated to the severity of fracture, to its level, to the presence of radiological evidence of degenerative change, or to the age of the patient.
4. Persistent symptoms were found more commonly in those patients who had received more treatment. The implications of this observation are discussed.
