What Can Be Done About Painful Fractures Of The Spine?

Doctors have now begun to offer an outpatient treatment for painful "crush" or compression fractures of the spine. Not as invasive as surgery, vertebroplasty can be done on an outpatient basis.

Interventional radiologists use X-ray technology to find the exact location of the patient's crushed spinal bone. A needle inserted into the fractured area injects surgical cement, which hardens quickly, stabilizing and strengthening the bone.

The best candidates are those with osteoporosis suffering from pain related to their spinal fractures. Only broken bones can be treated with vertebroplasty. The procedure is never used to treat herniated disks or chronic back pain caused by soft tissue injuries. Vertebroplasty is also inappropriate for very recent fractures that are less than six weeks old since these may heal on their own with conservative treatment.

If you are interested in receiving additional information regarding vertebroplasty or would like to schedule a consultation call 207-879-3732.

You can also get more information about vertebroplasty at the Society of Interventional Radiology website.

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