To the Editor: Thanks to the JAOA for the concise January 2000 supplement on osteoporosis. One small addition that would be especially relevant to osteopathic practice is specific inclusion of upper back extension exercises in the management of osteoporosis. Loss of height, the most clinically available indicator of osteoporotic vertebral wedging and compression fractures, is preceded by loss o...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Vertebroplasty performed in the mid- and upper thoracic spine presents technical challenges that differ from those in the lower thoracic and lumbar region. We herein report results of percutaneous vertebroplasty for treatment of painful, osteoporotic compression fractures in the mid- and upper thoracic spine. METHODS Retrospective chart review identified vertebroplasty ...

Introduction: Blunt thoracic trauma is not common in the pediatric population and usually results in pulmonary contusion, but other injuries may be present, especially in the presence of rib fractures. Case Report: We describe a case of blunt thoracic trauma that was complicated by rib fractures and associated lung herniation, which is a rare complication of such an injury. Imaging modalities a...

Stabilization of unstable thoracic fractures with transpedicular screws is widely accepted. However, placement of transpedicular screws can cause complications, particularly in the thoracic spine with physiologically small pedicles. Hybrid stabilization, a combination of sublaminar bands and pedicle screws, might reduce the rate of misplaced screws and can be helpful in special anatomic circums...

Background The failure rate for the closed/non-surgical treatment of thoracic and lumbar vertebral body fractures (TLVBF) in trauma patients has not been adequately evaluated utilizing computed tomography (CT) studies. Methods From 2007 to 2008, consecutive trauma patients, who met inclusion criteria, with a CT diagnosis of acute TLVBF undergoing closed treatment were assessed. The failure ra...

STUDY DESIGN Literature review. OBJECTIVE The aim of this review is to describe the injuries associated with sacral fractures and to analyze their impact on patient outcome. METHODS A comprehensive narrative review of the literature was performed to identify the injuries associated with sacral fractures. RESULTS Sacral fractures are uncommon injuries that result from high-energy trauma, a...

Objective The incidence of thoracolumbar fractures is increasing in modern society concomitantly with population aging. role percutaneous vertebroplasty as a possible treatment option for remains unclear. Methods In this study, we retrospectively reviewed clinical and radiological factors, including sex, age, bone mineral density, mechanisms injury, fracture levels, the Magerl classification 10...

Transpedicular screw (TPS) fixation in unstable thoracic and lumbar (TL) spine fractures remains technically difficult because of destroyed anatomical landmarks, unstable gross segments, and discrepancies in anatomic orientation using conventional anatomic landmarks, fluoroscopic guidance, or computed tomography (CT)-based navigation. In this study, we evaluated the safety and accuracy of TPS p...

Introduction: Vertebral fractures, thoracic kyphosis and flexed posture are associated with reported falls in cohort studies with elderly, but not yet confirmed as a risk factor in a prospective study. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether elderly patients with vertebral fractures, hyperkyphosis or flexed posture experience more fall incidents than patients without these c...