Back Pain Treatment (Kyphoplasty)

Most people blame aging for back pain — but for more than 700,000 Americans each year, the true cause is a vertebral compression fracture (VCF) due to osteoporosis. These fractures can cause chronic pain, height loss and upper-back deformity, setting off a serious downward spiral in quality of life. Osteoporotic fractures are responsible for more hospitalizations than heart attacks, strokes and breast cancer combined.

Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty

Both are outpatient vertebral augmentation procedures performed by RMI’s interventional radiologists in our procedural suite — usually taking about an hour, with no general anesthesia, no hospitalization and no lengthy recovery.

• Vertebroplasty: using fluoroscopy guidance, the radiologist positions a needle within the fractured vertebra and injects a fast-drying medical bone cement that stabilizes the fracture. 90% of patients experience pain relief and improved mobility within 24 hours.
• Kyphoplasty: a medical-grade balloon is first inflated to restore the vertebra’s height before cement is placed — addressing both pain and the spinal deformity that causes it.

Is it right for you?

If you have osteoporosis and new or worsening back pain, ask your physician whether vertebral augmentation might help — or call RMI and our team will walk you through the evaluation.