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If your back pain is caused due to a fracture then it is not necessary that the fracture may get diagnosed, instead the problem is often thought of as being general back pain resulting from a muscle strain or other soft tissue surgery. Because of this, around two-thirds of the vertebral fractures are not diagnosed and therefore are not treated. Spinal fractures occur as a result of osteoporosis which may originate while doing something that causes minor trauma to the spine such as an insignificant fall or twisting while lifting.
While osteoporosis is the most common cause of vertebral compression fractures, other possible causes of the fractures are:
Trauma to spinal vertebrae can lead to minor or severe fractures. Such trauma could result from a fall, a forceful jump, a car accident or an event that stresses the bones in the spine.
Some types of cancer can also cause fracture by weakening the vertebrae in the spine.
So, is clear that back pain is sometimes a result of fracture caused by the condition known as osteoporosis. Osteoporosis makes the bones more thin and brittle. As a result, they break or cave in under normal pressure. The thinning bones can collapse during normal activity which can lead to spinal fracture. The break in the spine caused by osteoporosis is known as compression fracture. Due to this fracture the vertebral bone in the spine decreases by 15 % to 20 % in height. This fracture also results in a wedged-shaped vertebrae. Osteoporosis is a silent disease which reflects no typical symptoms until a fracture occurs.
Sometimes, a person with back pain is unaware of the fact that he has actually fractured a vertebrae in his spine. Vertebral fractures are followed by acute back pain which can also lead to chronic pain, deformity, loss of height, crowding of internal organs, and loss of muscle and aerobic conditioning due to lack of exercises and activities. So, the main cause of bone fracture is osteoporosis which is more common in women than in men.
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