How Osteoporotic Fractures Affect The Spine

Dr. Finkenberg describes how osteoporotic fractures can impact the spine.

Osteoporosis is a very common disease in our population in the states and really worldwide. Back in 2004 and even more recently, they have done studies to show that anywhere from maybe one and a half to two million patients every year develop what they call fragility fractures or fractures secondary to bone being very hypodense or not having the cortical structure that you’d like it to have. This osteoporosis can be diagnosed by getting a bone scan. We have the ability to tell whether you are osteopenic or osteoporotic. Those that are osteoporotic we recommend they consider medication, which will decrease the amount of resorption of calcium you have in your bone. In addition to that, we like people to take calcium, probably 1200 to 1500 milligrams a day and vitamin D, somewhere between 400 and 800 international units a day. A combination of those two in addition to increased activity, and that’s weight-bearing activity, as well as the osteoporotic medication is a current medical treatment for osteoporosis. Of that one million five hundred to two million fractures a year somewhere in the neighborhood of 700,000 to 900,000 of those fractures represent vertebral fractures. Once you have a vertebral fracture, your incident of developing a second vertebral fracture is 10% or greater. So this is important for you to realize that if these types of fractures are occurring, you need to speak with your primary physician who may get you in touch with an orthopedic specialist or endocrinologist to start you on that medication.