broken back
Shattered vertebral column
A broken back is a fracture of one or more vertebrae in the spine—a serious injury that can cause paralysis or death.
The term appears in contexts ranging from medical emergencies to literary metaphors for devastating setbacks: The scandal broke the back of his political career.
To break the back of something is to overcome its most difficult part: We've broken the back of the project.
- vertebraeInterlocking bones of spine
- collapseSudden structural failure
- traumaLasting psychological wound
- nerve damageInjured neural tissue
- spineColumn of vertebrae
surgery · hardship · accident · car crash · fracture · osteoporosis · physical therapy · spinal fusion · hospital bed · spinal cord · spinal injury · pain management · adversity · perseverance · burden · lumbar · ruin · fall
- spinal conditionsspinal cord injury, spinal fracture, spinal curvature, spinal stenosis, spinal deformity
- dark patternsdark patterns, bait and switch, hidden fees, roach motel, misdirection
broken backclean bill of health
Official statement of soundness
scratch · uninjured · bruise · pulled muscle · paper cut
broken, back, break, broke, breaks, breaking, unbroken, breakable, unbreakable