Vertebroplasty

By supporting the vertebral body from the moment it sets: the fractured vertebra stops moving with every gesture and the fracture pain settles quickly. It is injected through a needle, percutaneously and under X-ray control.

Cement leakage is the risk to watch for, and X-ray control throughout the injection is exactly what minimises it. This is not a procedure without risk, it is a procedure done while watching.

It is true that in the long term the outcome may match conservative treatment. The difference is time: performed early, the saving in time spent in pain and with restricted mobility is dramatic. The sooner the better — and case selection still matters, because not every fracture is suitable.

It generally does not correct the collapse: its aim is to give support and take the pain away, not to restore the shape of the vertebra. When recovering height and reducing wedging is what matters, the option considered is kyphoplasty, and only in recent fractures.