If you have osteoporosis, your healthcare provider may order a dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scan. Imaging tests - such as spinal x-rays, bone scans and computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans - might be ordered to confirm the presence of a vertebral fracture.
To be a candidate for a kyphoplasty/vertebroplasty, your pain must be related to the vertebral fracture, and must not be due to other problems, such as disk herniation, arthritis, or stenosis (narrowing). Candidates for these procedures often have a reduced ability to move and function because of the fractures. Kyphoplasty/vertebroplasty are generally reserved for people with painful progressive (increasing) back pain caused by osteoporotic or pathologic vertebral compression fractures. Who is a candidate for kyphoplasty/vertebroplasty procedures? What kinds of conditions are treated? Pathologic fractures related to spinal tumors may also be a cause.
Thinning of bones, or osteoporosis, is the main cause of vertebral compression fractures. This can result in pain and a kyphotic (hunched-over) deformity. Vertebral body fractures lead to the collapse or compression of a vertebra, causing your spine to shorten and curve forward. Kyphoplasty/vertebroplasty are ways of treating vertebral body compression fractures, which are small breaks in the thick mass of bone that makes up the front part of your spinal column (the vertebral body).