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The following article was published in Your Health Magazine. Our mission is to empower people to live healthier.
Alexander Pitts-Kiefer, MD
Sudden Back Pain: An Undiagnosed Broken Bone?
Georgetown Pain Management
. https://www.gtpain.com/

Sudden Back Pain: An Undiagnosed Broken Bone?

A vertebral compression fracture is a common type of bone injury that results in the collapse of a vertebra, a type of bone that makes up the spine. Although there is a safe, effective, and minimally invasive therapy available, two-thirds of these fractures fail to be diagnosed. This is unfortunate, as missing this condition can result in under-treated pain, limitations on daily activities, breathing problems, and dependence on dangerous pain medications.

Bone density in both women and men starts to decrease after age 40, but the loss of density greatly accelerates after women enter menopause and can progress to osteoporosis. Although most compression fractures occur in patients with osteoporosis, one-third of vertebral compression fractures occur in patients without osteoporosis.

If a fracture occurs suddenly, patients can experience sudden severe back pain that often wraps around the sides and is felt in the chest. Because of this, it is sometimes confused with diseases of the heart or the lungs. The pain is often worse when standing, sitting-up, or walking around. If very severe, the patient can have trouble breathing.

Patients who have symptoms of a fracture should see their doctor for evaluation. Some doctors treat compression fractures with pain medicine, physical therapy, and bracing. However, many cases continue to cause severe pain and long-lasting health effects unless treated more definitively.

Unfortunately, many patients and physicians are not aware that there is a minimally invasive procedure called kyphoplasty that can quickly, safely, and effectively treat a patient’s pain without the long-term use of opioids and other pain medications.

If an acute compression fracture is present on an MRI, a patient should be referred to a pain management physician or another physician who performs kyphoplasty.

This procedure can often be performed in a doctor’s office, preventing the need for an overnight stay in a hospital. On the day of the procedure, the patient is given a medicine to relax and then is asked to lie on their belly. An X-ray machine is then used to locate the fractured bone and a narrow tube is placed into it through a very small opening in the skin. A small balloon is inflated within the bone to create a small space and the fracture is then filled with bone cement. The entire procedure can take as little as 45 minutes. Many patients feel immediate pain relief and are able to return to their daily lives the day after the procedure. However, some patients may take a week or longer to feel better.

Kyphoplasty most successfully reduces a patient’s pain within two weeks following a fracture. Unfortunately, if the window of opportunity is passed, the pain can become more challenging to treat and further complications can occur.

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