The human spine consists of 33 bones called vertebrae. These vertebrae allow our body to stand upright and move easily in all directions. At the back of the spine, that is, between the vertebral body and the posterior structures, there is a ring-shaped formation through which the spinal cord passes. These rings protect the spinal cord. The spinal cord, which consists of nervous tissue, provides communication between the brain and other regions, like the electrical cable of our body. These nerves provide the functioning of hands, arms, legs and feet, sensory functions, breathing, urine and stool (defecation) control.
If a bone is subjected to more load than it can withstand, that bone will break. Compression fractures of the spine are fractures in which the vertebral body is crushed and thinned under pressure. 5-10 percent of fractures occur in the cervical vertebrae, and 70 percent occur in the back and lumbar vertebrae. The most frequently injured area is the most mobile part of the spine where the back and lumbar vertebrae meet.
Although it can be seen after mild trauma, it usually occurs due to severe trauma. The most common cause is traffic accidents. Falling from heights, gunshot wounds, and sports accidents are among other causes of trauma. Spinal fractures may occur in patients with osteoporosis and spinal tumors even if the slightest trauma occurs. The situation is more serious if there is damage to the spinal nerves. These fractures can lead to further height loss in the bone over time, disrupting the posture of the spine and therefore the patient and causing a hunchback condition called "kyphosis". It is more common in post-menopausal women due to osteoporosis. People with osteoporosis may sometimes not be able to notice the fracture and may live with moderate pain for a long time without the situation being noticed.
Patients with compression (collapse) fractures in the spine require pain control, physical activity restriction, corset use, and treatments that increase bone density. Surgery is required in patients whose pain cannot be controlled or whose spinal collapse is at critical levels. Roughly two methods are used in surgery. In the so-called “minimally invasive” method, a hardening filling is placed into the bone (vertebroplasty, kyphoplasty) by inserting needles through the skin without the need for the patient to be anesthetized. Among these applications, kyphoplasty is a two-step procedure. I First, a special balloon is placed inside the broken and crushed vertebra, and the balloon is inflated to elevate the walls of the broken vertebra and allow the vertebra to take a more normal shape. Subsequently, the space created by the balloon is filled with a cement-like substance (bone cement, polymethylmethacrylate) to ensure that the normal (corrected) shape is permanent. The alignment and shape of the spine can be corrected by giving more normal shapes to the vertebrae. Kyphoplasty is performed through a small incision on the back. It is performed in the hospital under local or general anesthesia, depending on the severity of the condition. The entire process takes about an hour for each life corrected. The patient is discharged on the day of surgery or may be asked to spend the night in the hospital. You may notice that the pain subsides within two days following the surgery. In some cases, patients are not suitable for this treatment. In this case, it may be necessary to fix the vertebrae with screws through open surgery.
The most obvious symptom of spinal collapse fractures is pain in the back or waist area where the collapse occurs. Common symptoms; Sudden back pain is pain that worsens with shortening of height, forward curvature of the spine, standing up or walking. In the diagnosis of this disease, x-ray, tomography or MRI may be required after a physician's evaluation and examination. In some cases, bone fragility may have increased due to cancer in the bone and therefore it may have broken. In cases where this is suspected, drug-based imaging tests and bone biopsy can be performed.
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