How Kyphoplasty Can Stop Your Back Pain

When you’re young or middle-aged, your bones are incredibly strong. It usually takes a major impact, such as a bad fall or car accident, to break them. 

However, osteoporosis can slowly creep in as you age, making your bones so brittle and weak that they can break from something as benign as a minor twist or bump.

These fragility fractures are more common than you may realize. About half of women and one in five men over the age of 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis.

The spine is the most common site for osteoporotic fractures (vertebral compression fractures), resulting in serious back pain and, in some cases, a curved spine.

Our Florida Pain Management team has years of experience treating vertebral compression fractures. We specialize in kyphoplasty, a minimally invasive procedure that not only relieves your pain but also restores vertebral and spinal function.

Why osteoporosis is common

Throughout your lifetime, your bones stay healthy and strong by eliminating old and damaged bone and replacing it with new bone. But as you age, you lose bone faster than it’s replaced, causing bone loss and gradually leading to weak, brittle bones.

Most people can prevent osteoporosis by making lifestyle changes, such as getting enough calcium, vitamin D, and protein, and engaging in weight-bearing exercises.

However, nearly everyone loses some bone as they age. And women’s risk skyrockets after menopause because the loss of estrogen accelerates bone loss.

When vertebrae collapse (vertebral compression fracture)

When you have a vertebral compression fracture, one or more vertebrae collapse. Osteoporosis causes such weakness that the vertebra can’t do their job (carrying your upper body weight and supporting twisting and bending movements).

The vertebrae require optimal strength to withstand the daily stress they encounter. As osteoporosis weakens vertebrae, they can collapse. You only need to twist, cough, or bend over to trigger a vertebral compression fracture.

Vertebral compression fractures often occur in the thoracic spine, which is in the middle back and includes the vertebrae connected to your ribs. However, the top of the lumbar spine (lower back) is also vulnerable.

Vertebral compression fracture symptoms

Most people experience:

• Sudden pain in the middle back after the compression fracture
• Increase in pain when walking or standing
• Limited spine movement
• Pain or tingling in your arms, chest, abdomen, or legs (if the fracture pinches a nerve)
• Round-back deformity

During a compression fracture, the front side of the vertebra collapses, while the back side stays the same height. This gives the vertebra a wedge-like shape. If several adjacent vertebrae collapse, their new shape is more rounded.

How kyphoplasty eases pain and restores your spine

Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure performed through a tiny incision. We use real-time X-rays to view your spine, guiding a hollow needle through the cut and into the center of the collapsed vertebra.

We send a balloon through the needle and inflate it, restoring the bone’s natural height and shape. After we remove the balloon, we use that same needle to inject bone cement. Then, we remove the needle and bandage the opening.

You’ll lie still until the bone cement hardens, then spend about an hour in recovery. After two hours in recovery, you can get up and walk around. When we’re sure you’re stable and able to move, you can go home.

Fast symptom relief and recovery

Most people experience immediate relief from their pain. Your recovery is almost as fast. You can go back to most activities as soon as you leave the office. However, we will ask you to avoid intensive exercise and heavy lifting for a short time.

Don’t wait to seek help (time is limited for kyphoplasty)

Kyphoplasty has the remarkable ability to restore the vertebrae. Once the cement dries, the bone regains structural integrity and supports your spine.

However, if you want to consider kyphoplasty, you can’t wait to seek help. You can’t undergo this procedure if the bone heals in its collapsed state.

Most compression fractures heal in 8-10 weeks with conservative treatment, so don’t wait too long to see if your back pain might improve.

You’ll need to schedule an appointment well before eight weeks to ensure you have sufficient time to qualify for kyphoplasty.

Call Florida Pain Medicine or use online booking to schedule an evaluation, learn the cause of your back pain, and start treatment.