Spinal fractures can cause permanent damage
Brain and Nerve Surgery Op. Dr. Yasin Levend Özçelik made important statements about vertebral fractures that many people experience. Talking about the risks and causes of vertebral fractures, Op. Dr. Yasin Levend Özçelik: “Vertebral fractures can occur for various reasons. The most common reasons we see are vertebral fractures caused by accidents and fractures that can occur spontaneously due to bone resorption. Traffic accidents, work accidents, accidents at home are one of the biggest causes of vertebral fractures. Spinal fractures can also occur spontaneously, except through an accident. Spontaneous causes are usually that the spine is subjected to advanced bone resorption, it can break during any activity in our daily life or during a traumatic stress due to weakness due to tumors or infections. In other words, if the spine is weakened due to bone resorption or if a tumor splashes and an infection causes damage to the spine, it can easily be broken even if there is no specific accident.
“Our spinal cord extends about 60-70 cm from the brainstem to the coccyx”
Explaining at what stage the vertebral fractures are still risky, Op. Dr Yasin Levend Özçelik said: “Since we have the spinal cord in the spinal canal, vertebral fractures are risky anyway. Our spinal cord extends about 60-70 cm from the brainstem to the coccyx. Therefore, this spinal cord, which extends into the spinal canal, is affected by all kinds of fractures of the spinal canal or entire vertebrae, and can lead to loss of function ranging from bedlessness, spinal cord injury, incontinence of both legs or loss of urinary control to loss of control about stool in patients. The biggest reason vertebral fractures are riskier than other fractures is that they are adjacent to the spinal cord and the fractures have the potential to break the spinal cord easily.
“Fractures are a bit easier with the elderly”
Speaking about the risk of vertebral fractures in the elderly, Dr. Özçelik said: “All vertebral fractures are risky. Because, as I just mentioned, since there is a spinal cord in the spinal canal, fractures in all age groups are risky because they depend on the patient’s bedridden and paralyzed state. In the elderly, however, fractures are somewhat easier. Since bone quality is better in young people, it does not break in normal trauma and simple trauma, while in much simpler trauma in the elderly, it can be broken due to osteoporosis, especially in postmenopausal women, as bone quality decreases and bone quality decreases. density decreases. Sometimes even hard sitting and sneezing can cause spinal fractures in our patients with advanced osteoporosis.
“Boats can break much more easily”
Mention in which diseases vertebral fractures often occur, Op. Dr Özçelik said: “Excluding trauma, among other diseases, tumors are the most common diseases that cause vertebral fractures, as I mentioned. These jump to the spine and wear it down, reducing its strength and making it much easier to break. Another reason is infections. Bacterial infections, especially brucellosis and tuberculosis, reduce bone quality due to deterioration of bone structure. This makes bones much easier to break. We call this a pathological fracture,” he said.