| |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
OSTEOPOROTIC FRACTURE- In some
patients the bones become weaker with age. This is called osteoporosis. It can
also occur in patients who have an excess of steroid, either due to medication
or a hormonal imbalance.
- These
weakened bones in the spine can collapse with relatively minor injuries.
- This will
cause pain, tenderness and a bend in the spine or hunched back ('kyphosis').
- In
addition to an outpatient assessment and examination you may require an MRI scan
if your symptoms persist. It is a very good technique for showing if the
fracture remains unhealed ('hot') or healed ('cold'). An MRI scan uses a
powerful magnet to create a picture of your spine. It does not involve any
radiation exposure. The scanner itself is a long narrow tunnel, which some
patients may find a bit claustrophobic. It is also fairly noisy during the
scan.
- It may
also be necessary to consider a CT scan or radio-isotope imaging to get a
clearer picture of any abnormal vertebrae.
*** If you have a
history of a malignancy or cancer elsewhere in your body and you develop worsening
back or neck pain which keeps you awake at night then you should contact your
GP as a matter of urgency.***
Treatments
- Referral
to osteoporosis specialist for calcium therapy.
- Simple
analgesics.
- Vertebral
body augmentation - vertebroplasty, kyphoplasty, spinal stent. (minimal
invasive techniques performed by Radiologist).
- Instrumented
fusion (minimal invasive technique – rarely needed).
Outcome
- With
combined therapy in terms of calcium management, simple pain killers and
vertebral body augmentation, 80-90% of patients will see a significant
improvement in their spinal pain.
- Some
patients will have a collapsed vertebra, which has healed in that position, and
will therefore not benefit from vertebral body augmentation.
| |||||||||||
|