The pelvis is made up of several bones, including the hipbones (ilium, ischium, pubis), sacrum and coccyx. These structures are interconnected to form the “pelvic ring”, the vital function of which is to ensure stability, transmit loads from the upper to the lower part of the body (and vice versa), and connect with the various muscles of the upper and lower extremities. Pelvic fractures refer to any fracture involving one or more bones of the pelvic girdle. Due to the high resilience of the pelvic ring, these injuries are usually caused by high-energy traumatic events in young, healthy populations, such as road accidents. For this reason, pelvic fractures are often associated with additional injuries to other body structures (vascular, visceral, neural, soft tissue, etc.). In older populations, or in subjects with specific pathologies that make bones more fragile (e.g. osteoporosis), pelvic girdle fractures can also occur during low-energy mechanisms, such as a fall. Pelvic fractures can result in very different symptomatology, depending on the injured district, the traumatic mechanism, associated lesions and the severity of the fracture. Patients generally present with localized or generalized pain (pain may radiate to other parts of the body).

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