Vertebral compression fracture

<p>A compression fracture is a collapse of a <a href="/facts/Vertebra/qAdLhD5H">vertebra</a>. It may be due to trauma or due to a weakening of the vertebra (compare with <a href="/facts/Burst_fracture/Lj1RKU06">burst fracture</a>). This weakening is seen in patients with <a href="/facts/Osteoporosis/xa1W00Tj">osteoporosis</a> or <a href="/facts/Osteogenesis_imperfecta/jKr64on7">osteogenesis imperfecta</a>, <a href="/facts/Bone_tumor/YRqXtJwY">lytic</a> lesions from <a href="/facts/Metastasis/4dadbm6z">metastatic</a> or <a href="/facts/Primary_tumor/bRey029u">primary tumors</a>, or infection. In healthy patients, it is most often seen in individuals suffering extreme vertical shocks, such as ejecting from an <a href="/facts/Ejection_seat/nl3AmHHI">ejection seat</a>. Seen in lateral views in plain <a href="/facts/X-ray/wseP79cN">x-ray</a> films, compression fractures of the spine characteristically appear as <i>wedge deformities</i>, with greater loss of height anteriorly than posteriorly and intact <a href="/facts/Pedicle_of_vertebral_arch/qAdLhD5H">pedicles</a> in the anteroposterior view.
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Vertebral compression fracture open-in-new

Vertebral compression fracture