![]() ![]() Historyįirst, you will provide a complete history of your condition. After the physician knows more about what causes your discomfort, diagnostic tests will occur. It is important to determine what is and is not the root of the problem. There are many possible internal causes of pain. Before your doctor can diagnose your condition and design a treatment plan, a complete history and physical examination are necessary. In order for the diagnosis, a patient will need to visit a healthcare provider. Pain might not exist until the bone actually breaks. If the bone collapse becomes gradual – such as a fracture from bone thinning – the pain will usually seem milder. You might also feel weakness or numbness in these areas if the fracture injures the nerves of the spine. ![]() If the fracture gets caused by a sudden, forceful injury, you will probably feel severe pain in your back, legs, and arms. This is a sign that something going on internally is harming the bones. Cancer causes the destruction of part of the vertebra, weakening the bone until it collapses. A compression fracture of the spine that appears for little or no reason may indicate that unrecognized cancer has spread to the spine. The bones of the spine are commonplace for many types of cancers to spread. Metastasis refers to the spread of cancer cells into other areas of the body. The metastatic disease also causes vertebral fractures. Such trauma could come from a fall, a forceful jump, a car accident, or any event that stresses the spine past its breaking point. Trauma to the spinal vertebrae can also lead to minor or severe fractures. This disorder (called kyphosis or a “dowager’s hump”) appears as an exaggeration of your spine, that causes the shoulders to slump forward and the top of your back to look enlarged and humped. This type of vertebral fracture causes loss of height and a humped back – especially in elderly women. In severe cases of osteoporosis, actions as simple as bending forward can cause a “crush fracture”, or spinal compression fracture. However, sometimes the pain can persist if the crushed bone fails to heal adequately. The fractures usually heal on their own and the pain goes away. These vertebral fractures can permanently alter the shape and strength of the spine. Forty percent of all women will get at least one by the time they are 80 years old. ![]() In fact, spinal compression fractures are the most common type of osteoporotic fractures. The thinning bones can collapse during normal activity, leading to a spinal compression fracture. This disease thins the bones, often to the point that they are too weak to bear normal pressure. Osteoporosis can cause compression fractures. Similarly, the number of vertebra collapses/fractures depends upon the amount of pressure it must withstand. However, if you bend the pencil too far - past its breaking point - it will crack or break apart. If you place pressure on the pencil, it will bend a little and then go back into place when the pressure disappears gone. To understand a fracture, think about bending a pencil. However, if the force becomes too great for the vertebrae to sustain, one or more of them can fracture. Most healthy bones can withstand a lot of pressure and the spine will bend to absorb the shock. If the bone becomes too weak to hold normal pressure, it may not take much pressure to cause the vertebral body to collapse. There is not one single cause of compression fractures, though the word compression would indicate that the fracture occurs because of too much pressure being placed on the bone. What Causes a Thoracic Compression Fracture? Fortunately, this is not a common occurrence. In very severe compression fractures, the back of the vertebral body may actually protrude into the spinal canal and put pressure on the spinal cord. The cancellous bone on the inside of the vertebral body gets crushed or compressed. The fracture occurs when the bone actually collapses and the front (anterior) part of the vertebral body forms a wedge shape. This causes the spine to bend forward concentrating the pressure on the front part of the spine – the vertebral body. For example, falling from a chair in a sitting position on the floor usually causes your head to go forward at the same time your buttocks hit the floor. This usually results from a combination of bending forward and downward pressure on the spine. To best understand lumbar spine injuries, it helps to know some anatomy of the overall spine.Ĭompression fractures of the spine usually occur at the bottom part of the thoracic spine (T11 and T12) and the first vertebra of the lumbar spine (L1).Ĭompression fractures of the spine generally occur from too much pressure on the vertebral body. ![]()
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