Reinforcing the spine with liquid bone cement may help ward off the pain and disfigurement of osteoporosis.
The procedure, called percutaneous vertebroplasty, consists of injecting sterile liquid bone cement with the consistency of toothpaste into fractured vertebral bodies of the spine. The cement fills tiny holes and crevasses, strengthening collapsed vertebrae and relieving pressure and pain. The procedure is intended for use soon after a vertebral fracture, which can shorten the height of the spine's vertebral body by 20% to 30%.
"If we treat patients soon after each fracture, we can minimize their deformity," said Gregg Zoarski, MD, of the University of Maryland Medical Center. Zoarski and his colleagues treated 30 patients with vertebroplasty during a 6-month period. Immediate pain relief was reported by 29 of the 30 patients; 80% reported significant pain relief for at least 2 weeks. Patients in the study had not responded to bed . . . [Full Text of this Article]
