Your spine contains many small, stacked vertebral bones. These bones are under considerable pressure. If they deteriorate, you can develop a vertebral compression fracture. You may end up with resulting spinal curvature, making you appear hunched over, and many suffer from pain symptoms related to compression fractures.
Once you’re able to identify the problem, you can seek effective treatment for your spinal compression fracture. At Alpenglow Pain & Wellness of Anchorage, Alaska, Dr. Gavin Nixon offers kyphoplasty, a specialized procedure that treats compression fractures and rapidly relieves pain. Let’s take a more in-depth look at this condition and your available treatment options.
How do you know if you have a compression fracture? You’re not likely to see a broken bone protruding through torn skin with this type of injury. Instead, your symptoms are more subtle.
Often, a spinal compression fracture occurs as a result of an underlying weakness in your vertebrae or spine, such as osteoporosis or a spinal tumor. A spinal injury can also cause a compression fracture.
As your spinal bones weaken and collapse, you start to notice changes in your posture, pain levels, and health. Spinal compression fractures can cause kyphosis, an abnormal curvature of your spine. In advanced stages, your breathing may be impacted, and your abdominal organs could be crowded. You’re also likely to experience back pain that gets worse the longer your fracture goes unidentified and untreated.
Kyphoplasty is the main treatment for vertebral compression fractures. With this minimally invasive procedure, Dr. Nixon strengthens your spine and relieves your painful symptoms. Here’s how it works.
The key element of a kyphoplasty is the small, balloon-like device that expands and supports your spine. Inserted into your spine through a small puncture in your skin, the kyphoplasty balloon reverses the effects of spinal bone collapse.
The procedure typically takes less than an hour to complete. While you rest on your stomach, Dr. Nixon inserts a hollow needle, medically known as a trocar, into the damaged area of your spine. He doesn’t need to create a larger incision to complete the procedure, but works through this single small hole in your skin.
X-ray guidance, known as fluoroscopy, helps to precisely target your treatment. Through the trocar, Dr. Nixon places the kyphoplasty balloon in the area of your spine affected by the compression fracture. He then gently inflates it. The inflating balloon restores your proper spinal height. Finally, Dr. Nixon injects bone cement to shore up collapsing spinal bones.
We perform this treatment on an outpatient basis, so you can get back to your life right away. Your pain relief results can appear within just 48 hours, or even immediately. Any discomfort from the procedure fades in only a few days.
Kyphoplasty reliably helps with pain and discomfort related to compression fractures, improving the condition of more than 90% of patients. The treatment prevents kyphosis and related posture problems. And, the procedure is relatively quick and easy, with a minimally invasive approach, a short treatment time, and no post-treatment rehabilitation or physical therapy needs.
However, if your pain is caused by a different condition, such as spinal stenosis or degenerative disc disease, this may not be the right procedure for you. Talk to the team at Alpenglow Pain & Wellness about your symptoms and care needs.
With the right diagnosis, you can find the treatment path that leads you to living pain-free. To schedule your consultation appointment with Dr. Nixon, contact Alpenglow Pain & Wellness online or over the phone now.
