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Clinical Consequences
Clinical Consequences
Only about one third of vertebral fractures are actually diagnosed, because many patients and their families regard back pain symptoms as "arthritis" or a normal part of aging. But if left undiagnosed and untreated, vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) can lead to long-term complications, including progressive kyphosis (curvature of the spine) and height loss, debilitating pain, and increasing deficits in physical, psychological, and/or social functioning. This is known as the "downward spiral."
Complications include:[1]
- Reduced range of motion and prolonged inactivity
- Respiratory decrease and increased lung disorders, such as a collapsed lung or pneumonia
- Decreased appetite and poor nutrition due to compression of abdominal organs
- Constipation
- Bowel obstruction
- Deep venous thrombosis
- Worsening of osteoporosis
- Progressive muscle weakness
- Loss of independence
- Crowding of internal organs
- Higher risk of future VCFs because spinal misalignment can shift a patient’s center of balance
- Increased mortality
