Orthopedic Procedures for Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a devastating condition in which bones become fragile and can break. Over 10 million people are afflicted with osteoporosis, and 8 million are women. It is a degenerative condition that worsens over time and becomes more painful when left untreated. When breaks or fractures occur they tend to appear in the hips, spine and wrist. There a few surgical or orthopedic procedures that can be used to alleviate this condition.

Hip Replacement Procedures

• A hip fracture can cause severe impairment for a person's ability to walk. This condition can cause permanent disability and even death. Hip replacement surgery is one of the ways to correct a fractured or fragile hip.

  With this procedure, the doctor will remove the hip joint that is causing the pain and put in an artificial hip joint. Once the affected hip joint is replaced you will feel little or no pain and can begin to get back to a normal life.

  Hip replacement surgery was first completed in 1960 and is known as one of the best medical breakthroughs of the 20th century. Almost 200,000 of these procedures are done each year in the United States.

Osteoporosis Wrist Procedures

• The most common fracture for women under the age of 75 is the wrist fracture. The wrist is a common victim of fracture since we use it to try to catch ourselves when a fall occurs. With osteoporosis, a fall on the wrist can result in a multiple fractures--where more than one part of the bone breaks or more than one bone breaks.

  A wrist fracture will typically require a surgical procedure to correct and readjust the position of the bones back to their normal place. One type of surgery involves having pins inserted to hold the fracture in place. Another involves implanting plates or screws to heal the wrist. Still another procedure uses an external fixator. The fixator is attached to pins placed in the skin and pulls the fracture into the correct place.

  Fractures that are less severe can be healed with a splint or a cast.

Spine Procedures for Osteoporosis

• There are two common spinal surgeries used for compression fractures of the spine: vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty. In both procedures, thin tubes are used to implant orthopedic bone cement into the fractured area of the spine. With vertebroplasty, the cement is directly injected into the affected area and hardens to fasten the fracture. Kyphoplasty uses a balloon at the end of the thin tube to implant the cement and provide the appropriate height back in that area of the spine.