Compression fractures occur when one or more of the vertebral bodies collapse, either due to osteoporosis or underlying tumor. When painful, these fractures can be treated with vertebral body augmentation procedures such as vertebroplasty or kyphoplasty.
When the bones of the spine are weak, either from a tumor, or from decreased bone density due to age or medication, compression fractures can occur. These fractures can be very painful, typically characterized as intense pain along the midline of the back, that seems to bore through the center of the body, and worsens with movement, coughing, or bearing down.
When these fractures don’t heal on their own, the pain can persist indefinitely. In these cases, relatively simple procedures can be performed to treat the painful fracture. Both vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty involve placing a small needle through the skin into the bone of the spine, and injecting a special type of bone cement. We offer both of these procedures at Maimonides, and both are very effective at significantly reducing or eliminating pain from vertebral compression fractures.