Patients who suffer from back pain due to osteoporosis may not need spine surgery to experience relief, according Reuters.
Here are five key finds.
1. A recent study examined the effectiveness of vertebroplasty to treat patients suffering from compression fractures caused by osteoporosis.
2. There were 180 patients included in the study all over 50 years of age. All patients had been experiencing compression fracture pain within the past nine weeks of the study commencement.
3. Half of the patients in the study underwent vertebroplasty while the others underwent sham surgeries with local anesthetic injected into the bone. Neither group knew if they were being injected with the placebo or cement.
4. The patients met with surgeons one year after surgery to determine if the surgeries reduced pain. Both groups showed signs of significantly less pain; however, those who underwent vertebroplasty did not experience more pain loss.
5. While not showing more pain reduction than the sham procedure, vertebroplasty patients had less persistent pain or secondary fractures during the follow-up.