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Ways To Avoid a Compression Fracture
- chelsie462
- 6 hours ago
- 8 min read
This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in October 2024. For the original video, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CnnS5O7O14&t=65s
Mike: As we age, the risk of developing compression fractures in our spine becomes more prevalent because our bones tend to weaken, and we can develop osteoporosis.
Brad: So, today we're going to show you keys on things you can do to avoid compression fractures, particularly as you get older, because that's where the majority occur.
Mike: So, compression fractures, to get this explanation, we're actually going to go back a little in time here and bring Bob into the picture.
Bob: The first thing, compression fracture. What causes most compression fractures? Here's the spine, and this spine is now oriented just like Brad; it's facing the same way.
Brad: Right.
Bob: Yep, and normally you have a curve out, curve in, curve out. A little S, right?
Brad: Right. The spine is not straight like a two-by-four. It has a natural curve, and it's supposed to.
Bob: What puts stress on the bones of the spine is when you're in this rounded out position here, so that slumped position, especially if you add weight.
Bob: So if you lift things like this, yeah, if you pick stuff up like this, you're putting a lot of stress on the spine, and this is what can happen if you have osteoporosis, or weakened bones, osteopenia.
Bob: So here are three vertebrae. These are the bones we took right out of the back in pretend.
Brad: This is a model.
Bob: Right. We put tape on two of the vertebrae so that you can see what happens here. So when you bend forward, and if you have healthy vertebrae, they're just going to rock like this, and they have the discs in between, and it's going to be fine. But if it's not healthy, and you put some extra stress on it through lifting, you can actually squish down the bone, and that's what a compression fracture is, it's actually the front part of the vertebrae that collapses and squishes down.
Brad: Right, so you got the bone, it kind of crumbles, but it typically stays together. If you look at the X-rays, there are a lot of little cracks.
Bob: Like an accordion, almost, I guess.
Brad: Yep, and a lot of fracture lines occur.
Bob: Yeah.
Brad: And they're very painful.
Bob: Yep, they're very painful. And I think sometimes now they'll put cement in there as a correction. I've had a couple of people where they've done that, and it seemed to help somewhat.
Brad: Right, obviously, they're not mixing concrete, but that's a special procedure so that it goes in the bone itself and helps support it. All right, so you could see Bob and I did a real nice job with our models on what a compression fracture is in the spine. So now we're going to go through four different movements that really increase the risk of a compression fracture. And then, we're going to also talk a little bit about how osteoporosis plays a significant role in it as well.
Mike: So the first thing you want to do is avoid too much full flexion. So flexion of the spine is bending and rounding forward. So if you are bending down to your feet like this, rounding my spine. If you're young and have a good spine, this probably isn't going to do much. If you have osteoporosis, you're going to develop a compression fracture over time because you're putting a lot of stress on the spine there.
Brad: That's right, and a compression fracture in the spine, we've worked with many compression fractures. They're not very fun at all, very painful, and really limiting and debilitating as far as movement.
Mike: Now, if you are active and you may have osteoporosis as well, you want to avoid things like full flexion, again, in the sit-up position, rounding your back forward and back down. You could see my spine is getting a rounding force, and back down. And you also want to avoid any of this with twisting. Some people like to do their twisting crunches with the rounded back like this. If you're young, agile, and fine, you can do it. As you age, you could develop a compression fracture.
Brad: Yeah, it's rather interesting, because I still do a core exercise like that. So I have to keep in mind that as I get older, I probably want to take that one out of my regimen.
Mike: Next thing you want to avoid, again, as we talked about earlier, is rounding your spine like this. But if you do this and you pick up something heavy, there's that much more force.
Brad: Quit doing that, Mike. It just kills me to watch someone do that.
Mike: On your vertebrae, which can be problematic. Now what's the last thing they want to avoid?
Brad: And this is something we've worked with, particularly older people, when you sit down, particularly in a firm chair, is, you know, people may come back, and it's like, "Oh, the chair's there," plop.
Mike: Plop.
Brad: Down into the chair. They feel safe. But when you hit, and particularly with your back flexed, and you get that compression, that impact, that's when you can get that vertebra to actually fracture. Now these vertebrae aren't like breaking apart into pieces, and you have all these chunks of broken bone in your back. They actually just do hairline cracks. We thought we had a model of one here, but we don't. Usually, it's just one vertebra, it gets hairline cracks, and it really becomes painful, because every time you move it, there are micro, very small amounts of movements in the bone itself, and there are nerve endings in there, and it's just no fun at all. They usually heal up in two or three months.
Mike: So with osteoporosis, as you know, it can lead to compression fractures, like we've mentioned numerous times, because with osteoporosis, your bones become weaker and brittle. Now we're going to talk about typical people who might develop it. So, the first is obviously age. It's more common in older adults, especially after the age of 50.
Brad: That's right, and statistically speaking, women get more compression fractures than men, and there's a reason for that, because after they go through menopause in their fifties or whatever age it may be, that leads to weakening.
Mike: It leads to decreased estrogen production, which leads to osteoporosis.
Brad: There, thank you.
Mike: The next thing is race, it is more common in Caucasian and Asian individuals.
Brad: And body type, thinner people, this may surprise you, thinner people are more likely to get compression fractures than heavier people.
Mike: A family history, so if someone else in your family has compression fractures through every generation, you might develop it over time as well.
Brad: And medical conditions, for example, celiac disease or thyroid problems, are two common diseases that are associated with compression fractures.
Mike: Some lifestyle risk factors include excessive use of smoking or alcohol, lack of exercise, and poor nutrition. Obviously, all those things in conjunction can weaken your bones and cause compression fractures.
Brad: Right, my brother, who is a nurse, used to do motocross racing, and he quit because he realized he was probably going to get a compression fracture in his back. Anyway, I just went into a little side note. Lifestyle factors, but that is if you do activities that are aggressive and have impact.
Mike: High impact.
Brad: Yeah, like skiing, downhill skiing, those types of things.
Mike: And the last thing is that some medications can have long-term side effects. Things like corticosteroids can increase your risk of developing a compression fracture.
Brad: Did we forget anything?
Mike: I don't think so.
Brad: Okay, good. So yeah, very good. This is certainly something that you want to stay away from. If you have the risk factors and you're more likely to get compression fractures from the list that we talked about, make sure your body mechanics, the four things, go back and review that, because that can really make a difference in avoiding such a thing.
Mike: I would like to mention that if you are fearful of this, you can get an osteoporosis bone density scan. Typically, if you're on Medicare, they will cover that, because my mother just had one. Her bones are good.
Brad: Sure, yeah. And actually, we have a video on that, and it goes into the details. They'll give you a number, and if you're at risk for osteoporosis.
Mike: That video is "3 Things You Should NEVER Do If You Have Osteoporosis. PLUS Exercises You Should Do."
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