Spinal compression fractures, also called vertebral compression fractures, are cracks or breaks in the bones of the spine that are caused by too much pressure placed on them. Healthy bones can normally withstand quite a bit of pressure. If bones are weakened by tumor or osteoporosis, however, they can break with even mild trauma.
Compression fractures of the spine usually occur in the lumbar, or lower, region of the spine, but can sometimes occur in the thoracic spine at the level of the chest. Compression fractures can be extremely painful and disabling, and can cause instability that increases the risk damage to the nerves or spinal cord. They may even have an adverse effect on cardiopulmonary function.
Causes of spinal compression fractures include:
- Osteoporosis: The most common cause of stress fractures, osteoporosis is a condition in which the bones lose their density, becoming very brittle and at risk for fractures. This bone disease occurs mostly in women over 50.
- Trauma: Even minor falls can cause a spinal compression fracture in a person with severely weakened bones.
- Disease: Bone tumors such as metastatic cancer and multiple myeloma can weaken the bones and cause fractures. The growth of spinal tumors can place excess pressure on the vertebrae and cause fractures as well.
6th Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery and Navigation Hands-on Symposium
Neurosurgeons by definition have many difficult conversations with their patients. We review scans together and tell them, as gently as we can, that they have a tumor, have had a stroke, or have any one of a number of other conditions that affect...
Our Care Team
- Hansen-MacDonald Professor of Neurological Surgery
- Director of Spinal Surgery
Phone: 212-746-2152
- Assistant Professor of Radiology in Neurological Surgery (Manhattan and Queens)
Phone: 212-746-2821 (Manhattan) or 718-303-3739 (Queens)
- Associate Professor of Neurological Surgery, Spinal Surgery
- Co-Director, Spinal Deformity and Scoliosis Program
- Chief of Neurological Surgery, NYP Lower Manhattan
Phone: 212-746-2260
- Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery, Spine Surgery
Phone: 718-670-1837 (Queens) / 888-922-2257 (Manhattan)
- Chief of Neurological Surgery, NewYork-Presbyterian Queens
- Co-director, Weill Cornell Medicine CSF Leak Program
Phone: (718) 670-1837
- Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery (Brooklyn and Manhattan)
Phone: 212-746-2821 (Manhattan); 718-780-3070 (Brooklyn)
- Clinical Associate Professor of Neurosurgery
- Attending Neurosurgeon
Phone: 888-922-2257
- Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery
Phone: 646-962-3388
Reviewed by: Srikanth Boddu, MD, MSc
Last reviewed/updated: October 2020
Illustration by Thom Graves, CMI