I did not wear a back brace. In fact, I was unaware I had a compression fracture until after it healed because I attributed the pain to a back muscle injury. I have worked out for years and occasionally sprained my back and the pain was similar. However, after three months of pain that didn’t resolve I finally saw my PCP who ordered an x-ray.

I had some very low moments after that but because I am still working, I guess I had something to distract me. I also saw it as a challenge to overcome. Dr. Stuart McGill’s book, “Back Mechanic”, was also helpful as it gave me some hope that even simple exercise and learning what triggered my back pain would help. He has multiple stories of people who overcame their back injuries and were now pain free and that was inspiring to me.

I feel like I can relate to your pain and fear. I went through something very similar and ended up with 13 consecutive compression fractions. I credit Forteo with saving my life as was ready to sign up for MAID. The daily injection is not a big deal. More like an epi-pin and quite doable once you get the hang of it. Just book and appointment with the pharmacist for your first injection/lesson and you will be fine. I did 24 months of injections, as was in such bad shape. Initially had to use a walker to get back on my feet and slowly began to recover. I still use a back brace from time to time if I am going to be gardening or vacuuming. It has been 8 years and I maintained well with one shot of Prolia for maintenance and then Raloxifene . I had very insignificant decline over those 8 years, that incrementally added up to needing another round of Forteo. I am currently on my 9th month and will do a bone density test at 12 months. I take it at night, and only found initial side effects of some light headedness, headache and tummy upset. All doable and subsided after 6-8 weeks. I have lost 4 inches in height, but back on treadmill daily and some light weights. You can do it. But sounds like you really need a bone builder like Forteo. I am on the generic brand this time around, and it is cheaper and partially covered by my insurance. Also, once I was able to, I walked back and forth chest height in the pool and this helped me tremendously in my initial recovery. I hope you get good help and support. It does get better : )