|
|
 |
|
|
|
| Home > Spinal Disorders > Sprains/Fractures > Thoraco-Lumbar Fracture - Disorder Treatment |
 Print Page |
THORACO-LUMBAR FRACTURE (Compression Fracture)
Disorder Treatment
|
Non-surgical Treatment
The most common treatments for a thoracic compression fracture are: pain medications, decreasing activity, and bracing. Vertebral fractures usually take about three months to fully heal. X-rays will probably be taken monthly to check on the healing progress. In rare cases, surgery may also be necessary.
Mild pain medications can reduce pain when taken properly. However, remember that medications will not help the fracture to heal. The medication is simply to help with pain control.
You will most likely have to limit your normal activities. You should avoid any strenuous activity or exercise. You will definitely need to avoid heavy lifting and anything else that might place too much strain on your fractured vertebra. If you are elderly, your doctor might also put you on bed rest. Older bones take longer to heal and are typically thinner and weaker than younger bones. Treat this fracture as you would any other broken bone - carefully and seriously!
Another common form of treatment for some types of vertebral compression fractures is bracing. Your doctor may prescribe a back support (often officially called an orthosis). The brace supports the back and restricts movement; just as an arm brace would support a fracture of the arm. The brace is well molded to conform tightly to your body, like a cast for any other fracture. The brace used to treat a compression fracture of the spine is designed to keep you from bending forward. It holds the spine in hyperextension (meaning more extension, or straightening, than normal). This takes most of the pressure off the fractured vertebral body, and allows the vertebrae to heal. It also protects the vertebra and stops further collapse of the bone.
Surgical Treatment
Surgery to fix most spinal compression is rarely needed. With vertebral fractures, surgery, or internal fixation, is only considered if there is evidence of sudden and serious instability of the spine. For instance, if the fracture leads to a loss of 50% of the vertebral body's height, surgery might be necessary to prevent damage that is more serious to the spinal nerves.
If your doctor feels that surgery is necessary to treat your fracture, he or she will probably suggest using some type of internal fixation to hold the vertebrae in the proper position while the bone heals. If there are signs that there is too much pressure on the spinal cord, the bone fragments pushing into the spinal cord may also need to be removed.
Anterior Approach
When surgery is necessary to remove pressure from the spinal cord, your surgeon may suggest an operation from the front of the spine. During an anterior approach an incision is made in the chest to allow the surgeon to see the front of the spine and locate the vertebra that has been crushed. One the vertebra has been located, the bone fragments may be removed to remove the pressure from the spinal cord. Once this has been accomplished a spine fusion is usually performed.
The anterior spine fusion is performed by replacing the crushed vertebra with bone graft to hold the vertebra above and below the fractured vertebra apart. The bone graft eventually grows together with the vertebra above and below and fuses the vertebra together into one bone. During the operation a combination of metal screws, metal plates and metal rods are used to hold the spine in the correct position to allow the fusion to occur over the next several months. These metal implants will remain in the body and will not be removed unless they cause problems.
Posterior Approach
In some cases, an operation to stabilize the fractured vertebra can be performed through an incision in the back. This type of procedure can allow the surgeon to use metal screws and metal rods to hold the vertebrae in the correct alignment while the fractured vertebrae heals. The posterior approach is more useful when there is not a great deal of pressure on the spinal cord and the surgeon is trying to prevent the fractured vertebra from collapsing more.
|
|
Excerpts of this article (text/graphics) were provided by
"AllAboutBackandNeckPain.com" DePuy Spine ©2003.
All rights reserved.
|
> Go to Case Study
|
|
|
