With the increasing age, the bone quality deteorates. This is more common in postmenopausal women. There is a loss of bone density, which is called as osteopenia and in more severe cases called as osteoporosis. This makes the bone very fragile, and any trivial trauma may result in fractures of different bones, commonest being the vertebral bodies.

Osteoporotic spinal fractures may heal with time. But, due to the loss of vertebral body height and curvature, there is stooping posture of the spine and severe prolonged pain.

Initial treatment includes bracing and immobilization, and medication includes calcitonin. If the pain does not subsides and makes the patient bedridden, then in such cases vertebroplasty or kyphoplasty is advised.

It is a surgery in which under fluoroscopy guidance we enter into the body of the fractured vertebral body from the pedicle, and then the balloons are introduced into the body and inflated to correct the vertebral body height and stabilize the bone. Once the required height is achieved, the balloons are removed and bone cement is introduced and the fracture ends are fused.

The same procedure if we do without using the balloons, is called as vertebroplasty.

The pain is immediately improved and patient can be discharged early.