{"id":11185,"date":"2019-08-27T07:39:30","date_gmt":"2019-08-27T07:39:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/?p=11185"},"modified":"2021-04-27T13:55:56","modified_gmt":"2021-04-27T13:55:56","slug":"14-known-symptoms-of-compression-fracture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/14-known-symptoms-of-compression-fracture\/","title":{"rendered":"14 Known Symptoms of Compression Fracture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A compression fracture is one of the most common types of spinal injuries out there, and the average emergency room and doctor\u2019s office sees at least a few hundred patients with this particular type of fracture walk through their doors every year. Compression fractures happen when the vertebrae of the spine are injured (usually due to either a sudden impact or long-term trauma) and thus \u201ccompressed.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Symptoms of a compression fracture can include a noticeable reduction in height, either suddenly or over a long period of time, and chronic pain felt in the spine. With flare-ups of conditions like arthritis, there might be associated swelling on top of this as an added uncomfortable symptom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compression fractures can impair mobility and be the cause for a lot of pain and discomfort but can be treated and managed with early intervention. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are 8 known symptoms of a compression fracture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Reduction in Height<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the first symptoms of a possible compression fracture other than the pain that\u2019s normally associated with such an injury includes an obvious change in posture \u2013 usually appearing to hunch forward \u2013 which can lead to a reduction in height.\u00a0 The most practical way in which this symptom can be illustrated is to imagine how a lot of older people appear to get shorter over time; in most cases, this is caused by compression fractures<\/a> and degeneration of the spinal column.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it shouldn\u2019t be considered a condition that only affects the elderly in spite of the example that\u2019s mentioned above. Compression fractures can happen to anyone and at any point, regardless of age or general physical condition, and there are many medical conditions that can trigger or aggravate a potential compression fracture, including arthritis and connective tissue conditions such as Marfan Syndrome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See your doctor if you notice any changes in your height.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

2. Numbness and Tingling<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Numbness <\/a>and tingling are some of the most common symptoms that can be associated with a range of different nerve-related and spinal injuries. If you experience any kind of numbness and tingling where you didn\u2019t before, particularly after a traumatic injury to the neck or spine, it should be a priority to see your doctor as soon as possible. Where compression fractures happen, they risk very serious injury to the spinal column that could lead to trapped and damaged nerves, which is what causes the tingling and numbness as a symptom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a compression fracture or spinal injury happens to be the cause of your pain, then urgent scans are needed in order to establish the extent of the injury and how best to treat it from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tingling and numbness might only happen at certain times of the day, may be a constant symptom or may recur after long absences. See your doctor in any (or all!) of these instances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

3. Gradual Loss of Feeling<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Numbness and tingling <\/a>aren\u2019t the only ways in which a compression fracture might manifest: Sometimes it can lead to a total loss of feeling instead of the tingling and numbness that most people would imagine, in which case it could mean that the compression fracture has started degenerating the rest of the spine and is likely affecting the nerves.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where a gradual or sudden loss of feeling is involved together with some of the other symptoms that can be associated with a compression fracture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Report any changes in feeling to your doctor, and be sure to take note of any additional symptoms that you are experiencing together with this. If you are feeling any associated pain, mentioned this to your doctor during the same appointment \u2013 even where you think that a little detail doesn\u2019t mean much, every single detail helps your doctor to make fast and accurate diagnosis of your condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

4. Pain in the Back<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pain felt in the spine<\/a>, whether in the muscles or the vertebrae, can sometimes indicate the location of a possible spinal fracture – but at the same time, any kind of spinal pain can also point to a variety of different health conditions and issues, including scoliosis, general problems with posture, arthritis, and degenerative arthritis. If you experience any type of chronic or recurring pain, the best thing you can do is an appointment with your doctor that can help to establish the cause of what you\u2019re going through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In simple terms, pain sucks, but it can be a sign from your body that it\u2019s time to have an urgent and underlying medical condition looked at. Where it points toward a compression fracture,  other symptoms are likely to be experienced together with this one, including the reduction in height that is usually seen in cases of compression fractures (varying in severity).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

5. Muscle Weakness<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Tingling and numbness aren\u2019t the only potential symptoms that you can experience due to the nerve <\/a>and spinal damage that\u2019s often seen in the case of most compression fractures. Many times patients are also likely to experience added muscle weakness, which can be sudden or gradual in its onset. The muscle weakness should always be considered serious, and can usually be treated as a symptom separate from the rest.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While exercise and a healthy diet are both essential factors for staying in good health and avoiding muscle weakness, it should always be done with professional help in the case of compression fractures due to the added risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes the muscle weakness becomes a secondary symptom caused by the fact that the pain associated with the injury is so bad that exercise becomes cumbersome, painful and almost impossible, which can cause muscles to atrophy. For this, the help of an expert physiotherapist can be essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

6. Pain in the Neck<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pain is one of the most useful symptoms there are when it comes to telling a doctor more about what the patient is going through at any point in time, but it can also be one of the most varied ones at the same time. There are more descriptions for pain than there are words for different types of snow, and this is why it\u2019s vital to ensure you describe not only the location of the pain but also how the pain feels \u2013 for example, stabbing pain is different from a radiating one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to the extremely varied nature of pain as a symptom<\/a>, it takes a little more than just pain in the back to define a possible compression fracture. You\u2019re also likely to experience pain in other parts of the body other than the spine, including the neck, but also as potentially varied as the arms, legs, and feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

7.  Swelling at the Fracture Site<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pain isn\u2019t the only symptom that can be associated with a compression fracture, but it\u2019s most commonly one of the symptoms that are felt first \u2013 but there can also be swelling present in the case of a compression fracture, likely somewhere over or around the place where the fracture occurred. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you experience any swelling, pain, tenderness or loss of feeling, see your doctor even where you can\u2019t tie the symptom to a particular back injury. People might think of compression fractures as injuries that happen suddenly, but they can also happen over a long period of time, with some flare-ups of pain and swelling being worse than some others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anti-inflammatory<\/a> medication can go a long way towards controlling this symptom, but the compression fracture (and thus the symptom\u2019s cause) still has to be treated ASAP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

8. Related Health Conditions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are many related health conditions that can place you at an automatically increased risk of developing a compression fracture, and they are usually health conditions that are related to bones, degeneration of bones or to the spine. These health conditions include arthritis, osteoarthritis<\/a>, ankylosing spondylitis, multiple sclerosis, and others \u2013 of course, this isn\u2019t a full list of terms by any means, and there are many more other than these, but any existing spinal or bone condition could mean that you are at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other potential risk factors are likely to include just how much stress you are putting your body under as well as a family history of health conditions. If you have any family members who appear to have gotten shorter over time or struggled with their health or posture, then have your own health checked out \u2013 and yes, this is true even where the condition wasn\u2019t diagnosed or named in your family history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Mocre Interesting Articles<\/h2>\n