Symptoms and Diagnosis
Vertebral fracture symptoms can sometimes be difficult to understand. The back pain they sometimes cause can be attributed to a wide variety of conditions and diseases. However, it is important to understand the symptoms of vertebral compression fractures - especially when combined with risk factors - so that they can be properly diagnosed and treated.
Symptoms
For some people, there are very few symptoms of a vertebral compression fracture. For most, however, there are several signs that point towards a fracture, including:
- A sudden onset of back pain. Since the fracture occurs at a single moment in time, the pain should appear at the same time as the fracture, not over time.
- Pain while standing or walking. Standing or walking places additional pressure on the spinal vertebra, causing additional compression on the fractured vertebra and nearby nerves.
- Height loss. A major symptom of vertebral compression fractures, height loss can indicate that a vertebral column has fractured and compressed.
- Deformity or disability. In some cases, the fracture causes severe pain or forces the spine to align in an unnatural way, causing a range of other problems.
The risk for compression fractures is greatest for women over fifty due to their susceptibility to osteoporosis. A wide variety of conditions could cause sudden back pain for a fifteen year old, but if low back pain suddenly occurs for an older woman, vertebral compression fractures are the likely cause.
If multiple vertebral fractures occur, height loss is likely to be noticeable as well as development of a bulging abdomen and/or a hunched upper back.
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