Talk with your doctor about the risks and benefits of kyphoplasty to determine if it is the right treatment for you. Compression fractures are commonly the result of osteoporosis. Although rare, bone cement can also leak out of the bone and result in nerve aggravation or injury. A compression fracture of a spine bone (vertebra) causes the bone to collapse in height. These include bleeding, infection and anesthesia-related problems. Kyphoplasty is generally safe, but like any type of surgery, it does have risks. Compression fractures commonly occur in patients with osteoporosis. This type of fracture is usually stable (the bones have not moved out of place) and is rarely associated with neurologic problems. If local anesthesia is used, you will be awake during the surgery but will not feel pain, whereas you will be asleep during general anesthesia. While the front (anterior) of the vertebra breaks and loses height, the back (posterior) part of it does not. “In just a few minutes, the cement hardens, strengthening and stabilizing the bone to prevent it from collapsing again.”Īlso called balloon kyphoplasty, the procedure may be performed under local or general anesthesia. “Guided by real-time X-ray images, we use a small needle to pass a balloon into the fracture to help restore the height of the collapsed bone, then inject the cement into the space created by the balloon,” says Dr. This is because the nerves that exit the thoracic spine from T2 to T12. THAT what was causing her constant pain that no amount of chemicals or hand-wringing can overcome.Įvery single day we get to exceed people’s expectations because very few people yet know that ABC™ technology is possible.Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive surgical procedure that repairs the fractured vertebra using a special type of bone cement. Physical Therapist Margaret Martin reviews compression fracture physical therapy. Yes, she had two compression fractures from which she remembers feeling the excruciating pain not five but six months earlier, and yes, the X-ray report showed advanced degenerative changes throughout her lumbar spine.īut she was in pain and restriction not from these things but from exactly what we are trained and expert at detecting and correcting: Bones out of place in a direction that the body cannot self correct, thereby forcing the body to adapt with compensatory twists. The answer? FOREVER! Unless she throws herself off in some other incident. Surgical Treatment for Spinal Compression Fractures. “How long will these changes last?” you may ask. She could breathe fully and deeply, her face had excellent color and overall she looked and felt radiant. I saw her for a full exam a few days later and in 2 visits she could bend from her waist the full 90 degrees. I WISH I had a video of her face as she moved around in astonishment that the pain was gone. In less than 45 seconds, with her permission, I performed two gentle moves with her standing, and then asked her to move around and check herself out. I saw where she was bent forward, what was intact, and what was not aligned. I checked her range of motion, which was quite limited. VERTEBRAL COMPRESSION FRACTURES MAZANEC AND COLLEAGUES Downloaded from on July 28, 2023. Do you mind if I take a quick look at you?” compression fractures develop depression FIGURE 3.T2-weighted magnetic resonance image of the lumbar spine depicts compression fractures at T12, L2, and L4 (arrows). “Well, how much longer does she think it is going to take to heal? Fractures should heal in 6 to 8 weeks. The doctor says I’m not ready yet, that they are not healed.” “FIVE MONTHS? You’ve had these for 5 months and you are still in pain, and still can’t move freely?” I asked, incredulous. “You have compression fractures in your spine?” When I asked her, “Would you like your spine evaluated some time?” she replied, ” Oh, I will just as soon as these compression fractures heal.” A 67-year old woman had been accompanying her husband to his office visits for 2 weeks, and they both have been delighted with his progress and new found capabilities. Here’s a delightful story from the other day.
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