The spine is the backbone of the human body.It consists of 32-34 vertebrae, which are joined together by ligaments, cartilages and joints. It can withstand a very large load, but with certain factors (lifting of gravity, falling on ice or from height, bumps, etc.), spinal fractures can occur. According to statistics, almost 13% of people who suffered such a trauma are disabled.
Kinds
Fracture of the spine (photo below) is divided into two types: compression and decompression. Let us consider them in more detail.
Compression fracture occurs if thethe spinal column will act simultaneously with two forces: stretching and contraction. This will lead to the fact that the discs and the body of the vertebra will increase pressure, as a result of which it will acquire a wedge shape.
Decompression fractures of the spine are the result of a strong stretching of the vertebrae. This can also lead to a spinal cord injury.
Symptoms
With minor degrees of fracture, symptoms are almost not observed. If the injury is more severe, then immediately after receiving it the patient has the following symptoms:
Who is most prone to this pathology?
Most often, vertebral fractures occur inpeople with insufficient content in the blood and bones of calcium. These are mainly elderly people and children. Also, those who have been taking hormonal therapy for a long time (especially corticosteroids) also suffer from this. They greatly affect the decrease in bone density.
How to treat a fracture of the spine?
To get rid of this injury, you do not needone month. As a rule, all treatment is appointed and conducted under the supervision of a specialist. The first thing that is necessary for this is strict adherence to bed rest and taking all the prescribed medications.
On the severity of the fracture and the condition of the patientwill depend on the methods of treatment, the initial task of which is full or partial unloading of the vertebra from all the loads. In general, stretching is used for this purpose.
Fractures of the spine of the initial degrees can be susceptible to conservative treatment, which will consist of the following measures:
In more complex situations (for example,damage to the spinal cord) usually requires surgical intervention. It can be performed with vertebroplasty or kyphoplasty. In both cases, the vertebra is fixed using a special bone cement.
