Osteoporosis has become a major public health concern worldwide. It is believed that the associated healthcare costs are growing in parallel with increase in elderly population, and it is expected that the number of osteoporotic fractures will double over the next 50 years. The global incidence of osteoporotic spinal compression fractures, also known as vertebral compression fractures (VCFs), is currently estimated at 7,00,000 annually and is expected to increase fourfold over the next 50 years. VCFs are the most common fractures in patients with osteoporosis.
They occur when the bones of the spine break due to trauma, and affect an estimated 25 per cent of all post-menopausal women in the US. VCFs occur in two age groups with different causes. In old people, the commonest cause is osteoporosis of bones followed by metastatic cancers from breast and prostate. In the young, it occurs due…
