New Era of Treatment of Osteoporotic Spine Fracture for Nonorthopaedic Doctor
- Author:
Jun Young YANG
1
;
Jin Hwan KIM
Author Information
1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Korea. jyyang@cnu.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Review
- Keywords:
Spine;
Compression Fracture;
Osteoporosis
- MeSH:
Back Pain;
Fractures, Compression;
Hip;
Humans;
Osteoporosis;
Spine;
Wrist
- From:Journal of Korean Society of Osteoporosis
2014;12(3):91-96
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
As we get older, our bones get thinner and their strength decreases. Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones become very weak and are more likely to break. It often develops unnoticed over many years, showing no symptoms or discomfort until a bone breaks. Fractures caused by osteoporosis occur most often in the spine. These spinal fractures-called vertebral compression fractures-occur in nearly 700,000 patients each year. They occur almost twice as often as do other fractures typically linked to osteoporosis, such as broken hips and wrists. Recently, several reports have been published on the results of vertebral augmentation procedures and fusion. However, many questions have been raised about the amount of pain relief that can be expected after such procedures. Although these few studies have sparked some debates in the medical community, it is important to remember that many procedures have also shown significant improvement in relief in back pain from vertebral compression fractures.
