For Osteoporosis Sufferers, A New Treatment Is Available

Osteoporosis is responsible for more than 1.5 million fractures each year. However, for those suffering from a vertebral compression fracture, a new treatment at Clark Memorial Hospital is now available.

Kyphoplastyä is a procedure designed to reduce or eliminate back pain due to vertebral compression fractures and possibly even straighten the spine.

Osteoporosis is a devastating disease that weakens the density of the bones over time. A vertebral fracture occurs when the thick block of bone at the front of the vertebra becomes too weak and fractures. The vertebra then collapses, causing acute or chronic pain.

“Kyphoplasty uses a tiny balloon that is passed through a needle into the vertebra. Once inserted, the balloon is inflated to raise the depressed bone and create a cavity at the center of the vertebral body. Then, biomaterial is injected in the cavity to better stabilize the bone,” said Dr. Mohammad E. Majd, spine surgeon at Clark Memorial Hospital. “This procedure helps restore some of the height lost from a compression fracture and relieve back pain.”

Since performing this procedure, 90 percent of Dr. Majd’s patients have had immediate pain relief, and have returned to their daily activities with a low overall complication rate.

According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, about 10 million Americans have osteoporosis and 18 million have low bone mass, or osteopenia. It is estimated that 30-50 percent of women and 20-30 percent of men will develop a vertebral fracture in their lifetime, and half of those individuals will sustain more than one.

Vertebral compression fractures rarely occur before the age of 50, but the incidence of injury increases as a person gets older. These fractures can cause disability, pain, hunchback deformity, and loss of independence, as well as significant medical costs.

“Before Kyphoplasty, the best we could do for patients with vertebral fractures was to manage their pain,” says Dr. Majd. “Now our patients have experienced remarkable pain relief and improved quality of life. Dr. Majd is one of only two physicians in the metro Louisville area and the only one in southern Indiana performing this procedure.

For more information, please contact Clark Memorial Hospital at (812) 285-5893, or visit www.clarkmemorial.org.

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