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I think I need to get a second opinion. I don’t have money to go outside of Kaiser, but hopefully another doctor there would be open minded and take a new look. As you picked up on, that doctor was so unconcerned that I was amazed! It seems like she was only interested in my low back issues barely talked about the fracture. But yes she did say because of Covid they were not doing surgeries … or that kind of surgery I don’t know. I’ve been doing a lot of research tonight on “cement “. I saw a couple articles that said if it’s been over a year that it shouldn’t be done. I must say that made me extremely disappointed. The thought of not getting better is very b depressing.
Yes I have improved. But not much. I can stand about 20 minutes to do dishes. And then I have to lay down put ice on my back.
Did your mother have a fracture for very long before it healed? I’m happy for her that it did heal
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@candy101 after 1.5 years your compression fracture HAS healed. You are outside the window for the surgical procedures that inject cement. The cement kind of props up the part of the vertebra that collapsed. A compression fracture is more of a collapse on the inward side of the vertebtra than a "break" like a fractured arm.
I was offered the surgical procedure but my doc said the outcome would not be that different and it was done only for short term pain relief. There are risks to kyphoplasty such as migration of cement into lungs.
I had a fall years ago and fractured T 12 and T 6. The ER got a negative x-ray that said no fracture, and like you, I went months in pain with my PCP telling me it was soft tissue. When I finally got to a spine specialist I was told that it takes 48 hours for a compression fracture to show up in an x-ray! Grrrrrr!! I got a brace 6 months after the injury which didn't help much and I really didn't use it.
Fast forward to last year and I fractured 3 lumbar vertebrae via osteoporosis this time. I knew enough to wait two days to have the x-ray 🙂 I got a soft brace and declined the kyphoplasty despite pain. I am resigned to pain and still walk every day. Tai chi feels good. Hope you feel better!