Vertebral compression fractures

[Merna]

Most vertebral compression fractures are a consequence of osteoporosis, are asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic, and occur with no or minimal trauma.
(See also Overview of Fractures.)
Vertebral compression fractures due to osteoporosis are common in the thoracic spine (usually below T6) and lumbar spine, particularly near the T12-L1 junction. There may be no preceding trauma or only minimal trauma (eg, a minor fall, sudden bending, lifting, coughing). Patients who have had an osteoporotic vertebral fracture are at higher risk of other vertebral and nonvertebral fractures.
Occasionally, compression or other vertebral fractures result from significant force (eg, a motor vehicle crash, a fall from a height, a gunshot wound). In such cases, a spinal cord injury is often also present, and the spine may be fractured in gt; 1 place. If the cause was a fall or jump from a height, one or both heels may also be fractured; 10% of all patients with a calcaneal fracture also have a thoracolumbar fracture (because of the axial load to the skeleton when landing on the heels).