Yeditepe University Koşuyolu Hospital Brain and Nerve Surgery specialist Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hilmi Kaya gave information about the causes of osteoporotic fractures and osteoporosis.
Stating that one of the most important findings of spinal fractures is pain, Prof. Dr. A. Hilmi Kaya gave the following information about pain, which patients often confuse with other problems:
“Osteoporotic fractures can cause severe pain at rest, even while sleeping. It is a blunt and severe pain that usually manifests itself acutely. The intensity of the pain, which concentrates on the spine, increases with movement. Sometimes it is not possible to distinguish this pain from different diseases or problems. Therefore, if severe spinal fractures do not have the stability to support the spinal cord, deformity or even sudden paralysis may develop.”
Underlining that osteoporosis should be followed seriously in terms of fractures that may occur in the spine, Prof. Dr. A. Hilmi Kaya continued his words as follows:
“The important thing is to take precautions before a fracture occurs. For this, the bone structure should be strengthened with some drugs and exercises. Other metabolic diseases that may be associated with osteoporosis should be controlled. In addition, some restrictive measures should be taken, especially in patients at risk of fracture.
When a fracture occurs, if theoretically there is no spinal cord compression, that is, we do not need an operation to eliminate the secondary effect of the fracture, we first give that bone a steady opportunity to heal. The same approach is used for traumatic fractures. Unfortunately, this may not always be possible.
In osteoporotic fractures, vertebroplasty, that is, the method of filling the bone, which we can do more practically in the early stage after the fracture occurs, is extremely important. In this process, popularly known as bone cement, the substance we put into the bone solidifies the bone while it freezes. It also eliminates the feeling of pain. Therefore, it should not be forgotten that it may be a very necessary action to prevent bigger problems in the future.”
"If the fracture is not progressive and if we trust the patient, we act conservatively," said Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hilmi Kaya continued his words as follows:
“In this case, we can support the patient with a severely disciplined corset without surgery. If there will be a more progressive fracture and we will not be able to treat it by filling it, we may have to perform a very serious surgery in the future.
In other normal fractures, if there is no pathological condition in the bone, we can achieve very successful results with the screwing technique we apply. Beyond that, in some pathological fractures, we can support the entire spine with an artificial new spine, if necessary. We treat it by supporting the spine completely with different instrumentation techniques such as screwing. In other words, we can have very different treatment methods depending on the disease, the structure of the patient and the condition of the fracture. Our goal is to prevent the fracture from being damaged before more serious secondary problems occur.
Some precautions should be taken to prevent these patients from experiencing a fracture. For this, physical therapists, rheumatologists and even endocrinologists today help a lot. When there is a problem, we step in. In order to determine the risk ratio in spinal fractures, a physician should be consulted as soon as possible. Because during the treatment, "Will the spine be affected, will our spinal cord in it be damaged, will the fracture be stable?" It is very important that we find answers to such questions.”
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