Where do most compression fractures happen?
ANSWER
Most compression fractures happen in the front of the vertebra. When you get enough of them, the front part of the bone can collapse. The back of the vertebra is made of harder bone, so it stays intact. That creates a wedge-shaped vertebra, which can lead to the stooped posture you might know as a dowager's hump. Doctors call it kyphosis.
Reviewed by Carol DerSarkissian on March 10, 2019
SOURCES:
Black D. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 2000.
Cooper C. Bone, 1993.
Kado D. Arch Intern Med, 1999.
Michael Schaufele, MD, physiatrist and professor of orthopaedics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta.
Rex Marco, MD, chief of spine surgery and musculoskeletal oncology, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston.
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
National Osteoporosis Foundation.
SOURCES:
Black D. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 2000.
Cooper C. Bone, 1993.
Kado D. Arch Intern Med, 1999.
Michael Schaufele, MD, physiatrist and professor of orthopaedics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta.
Rex Marco, MD, chief of spine surgery and musculoskeletal oncology, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston.
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
National Osteoporosis Foundation.
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