Osteoporosis is a silent disease,
typically there are no symptoms
until a fracture occurs.
By the time a fracture occurs, the osteoporosis is
usually advanced and the individual is
then susceptible to more vertebral fractures.
Osteoporosis is a main
cause of vertebral fractures.
It is estimated that approximately 25 percent of
postmenopausal women in the United States
have had a vertebral compression fracture.
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Osteoporosis causes bones to thin
and become brittle and weak.
When the bones in the spine (vertebrae) weaken
they can break or cave in under normal pressure.
The thinning bones can collapse during
normal activity, leading to a spinal fracture.
The type of break in the spine that
is typically caused by osteoporosis is
called a compression fracture, and is defined
as a vertebral bone in
the spine that has decreased
at least 15 to 20% in height.
Compression fractures can occur in
vertebrae anywhere in the spine, but they
tend to occur most commonly in
the upper back (thoracic spine), particularly
in the lower vertebrae of
this section of the spine.
The vertebrae are the box-shaped bones
that make up the spine.
Compression fractures occuring from
osteoporosis usually effect
the front of the vertebra,
collapsing the bone in the front of the spine
and leaving the back of
the same bone unchanged.
This results in a wedge shaped vertebra.
If several vertebrae are compressed,
a rounded or hunched back may be noticed.
This is called kyphosis.
Cervical Kyphosis
is an outward curvature (kyphosis) of
the cervical vertebrae
(the bones of the neck),
creating a hump at
the back of the neck.
Thoracic kyphosis is commonly
referred to as a dowager's hump.