Objective To explore the effect of postural reduction and balloon dilation on the correction of vertebral height following balloon percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) for osteoporotic vertebral coinpressive fracture (OVCF).Methods From June 2012 to December 2013,47 OVCF patients involving 57 fractured thoracolumbar vertebrae with intact posterior wall underwent PKP.In all patients postural reduction was performed under general anesthesia.The percentages of vertebral height loss before and after balloon dilation were compared.The curative effects were evaluated by comparing preoperative and postoperative visual analogue scale(VAS) scores and cobb angles.Results Compared with preoperation,the vertebral heights of anterior and middle columns were significantly improved after postural reduction,balloon dilation and PKP (P ＜ 0.05),but there was no significant improvement before and after balloon dilation (P ＞0.05).The postoperative average cobb angle (22.8°± 8.1°) was significantly decreased compared with the preoperative one (22.8° ± 8.1°) (P ＜ 0.05).The VAS scores at preoperation,one day postoperation and the final follow-up were respectively 8.5 ± 0.4,3.4 ± 0.2 and 3.1 ± 0.3.The postoperative ones were significantly lower than the preoperative one (F =7.518,P =0.006).Conclusions In PKP,postural reduction under general anesthesia plays an important role,but balloon dilation may exert an insignificant effect on restoration of vertebral height.