A significant injury from a car accident or sports can lead to painful compression fractures in the spine. If not treated properly, a fracture can cause persistent back pain, changes in your posture, and even loss of bladder or bowel control.
At New Tampa Interventional Pain & Sports Medicine, we specialize in minimally invasive kyphoplastic procedures to repair fractured vertebrae.
Our pain management specialist Jose De La Torre, MD, offers comprehensive health evaluations to identify the cause of a spine fracture and determine if kyphoplasty is an appropriate treatment.
Vertebrae are the bones that form your spinal column. Injuries to the spine can cause small compression fractures or cracks in the bone, which can ultimately grow larger over time.
You may also be susceptible to compression fractures if you have osteoporosis, an age-related condition that occurs when your bones lose their density and become weak.
Though compression fractures can affect any part of the spine, they are most common in the thoracic (middle) spine. Fractures are classified in two ways:
A stable fracture describes a broken bone that doesn’t move out of position.
An unstable fracture happens when pieces of bone move out of place, which can irritate or damage surrounding tissue or nerves.
Mild compression fractures may not cause noticeable symptoms. Moderate-to-severe fractures can result in the collapse of spinal vertebrae, leading to a loss of height.
You might also experience:
Without treatment, compression fractures can change the shape of your spine, causing the vertebrae to curve forward and giving you a hunched posture. Back pain may even get severe enough to cause disability.
In some cases, untreated compression fractures lead to difficulties controlling your bowels and bladder. You may also be prone to additional spinal fractures.
Mild pain from a spinal fracture may be manageable with medications and physical therapy. However, a worsening of pain and mobility issues may need a surgical procedure known as kyphoplasty.
Kyphoplasty is a minimally invasive procedure designed to stabilize a fractured vertebra and prevent the bone from collapsing.
During kyphoplasty, we make a small incision in your back near the fractured vertebrae. Dr. De La Torre then inserts a needle with an attached balloon into the bone. He carefully inflates the balloon, making space in the bone before filling the area with medical-grade bone cement, which hardens quickly.
The cement stabilizes the bone and restores the height of the vertebrae. The procedure also relieves fracture-related pain and can improve your mobility.
Because it’s an outpatient procedure, you can expect to go home after kyphoplasty. Downtime is minimal, and you can return to your usual routine within a few weeks. Dr. De La Torre can also refer you to physical therapy to strengthen the back muscles that support your spine.
Call New Tampa Interventional Pain & Sports Medicine in Wesley Chapel, Florida, today to find out if you’re a candidate for kyphoplasty or book a spinal evaluation online.
