Treatment: Traditional

Traditional treatment of painful compression fractures is non-operative and has included:

• Bed rest (no more than a few days)
• Oral or parenteral analgesics
• Muscle relaxants

Traditionally, patients who did not respond to these measures would be admitted to the hospital for strict bed rest or narcotics for pain control. Both of these can worsen other problems especially in older patients.

The risks associated with these therapies can be avoided by percutaneous vertebroplasty.

NEXT» What is Percutaneous Vertebroplasty?