Object External supports serve as a traditional treatment option for osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVFs). However, the role of external supports in the treatment of OVF remains inconclusive. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of a rigid external support in the healing of OVFs by prospectively evaluating union (fracture settling) rates and prognostic variables for patients suffering from an incident OVF. Methods Fifty-five patients with acute back pain were enrolled in this study after being diagnosed with an OVF based on MRI findings. Patients were treated using a plastic thoracolumbosacral orthosis (TLSO) and underwent follow-up at 2, 3, and 6 months. Vertebrae were referred to as “settled” when there was no dynamic mobility on sitting lateral and supine lateral radiographs. At the time of the 3- and 6-month follow-up visits, the patients were divided into 2 groups, the “settled group” and the “unsettled group.” Patients in these groups were compared with regard to clinical and radiographic features. Results Of the 55 patients enrolled, 53 patients were followed up for 6 months. There were 14 men and 39 women with an average age of 75.3 years. Fracture settling of the affected vertebra was defined in 54.7% of the patients at 2 months, in 79.2% at 3 months, and in 88.7% at 6 months. All 5 components of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire improved significantly both at 3 months and 6 months. Patients in the unsettled group exhibited a statistically greater likelihood of having fractures at the thoracolumbar junction, Type A3 fractures, and fractures with a diffuse low-intensity area on T2-weighted MRI studies at 3 months. In contrast, at 6 months, the only statistically significant difference between the groups was patient age. Conclusions The biomechanical disadvantages of OVFs (location, type, and size) adversely influencing the fracture healing were overcome by the treatment using a TLSO within 6 months. The authors' findings show that a TLSO plays a biomechanical role in the healing of OVFs.

The correlation of scoliosis with the Z-score BMD and BMI supports the pathology of scoliosis based on vertebral fragility. Proper management of BMD and BMI may have therapeutic value in delaying the progression of scoliosis in patients with osteogenesis imperfecta.

In the past two decades, minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS) techniques have been developed for spinal surgery. Historically, minimizing invasiveness in decompression surgery was initially reported as a MISS technique. In recent years, MISS techniques have also been applied for spinal stabilization techniques, which were defined as minimally invasive spine stabilization (MISt), including percutaneous pedicle screws (PPS) fixation, lateral lumbar interbody fusion, balloon kyphoplasty, percutaneous vertebroplasty, cortical bone trajectory, and cervical total disc replacement. These MISS techniques typically provide many advantages such as preservation of paraspinal musculature, less blood loss, a shorter operative time, less postoperative pain, and a lower infection rate as well as being more cost-effective compared to traditional open techniques. However, even MISS techniques are associated with several limitations including technical difficulty, training opportunities, surgical cost, equipment cost, and radiation exposure. These downsides of surgical treatments make conservative treatments more feasible option. In the future, medicine must become “minimally invasive” in the broadest sense—for all patients, conventional surgeries, medical personnel, hospital management, nursing care, and the medical economy. As a new framework for the treatment of spinal diseases, the concept of minimally invasive spinal treatment (MIST) has been proposed.

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Introduction: Vertebral fractures associated with ankylosing spinal disorders pose significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Notably, the ankylosed spine remains in ankylosis after fracture treatment, and the underlying susceptibility to further fractures still remains. Nevertheless, information is scarce in the literature concerning patients with ankylosing spinal disorders who have multiple episodes of vertebral fractures. Case Report: Case 1 involves an 83-year-old male patient with diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (ankylosis from C2 to L4) who had three episodes of vertebral fractures. The first episode involved a C5-C6 extension-type fracture, which was treated with posterior segmental screw instrumentation. Five years later, the patient sustained a three-column fracture at the L1 vertebra following another fall. The fracture was managed with percutaneous segmental screw instrumentation. One year and two months postoperatively, the patient fell again and had a refracture of the healed L1 fracture. The patient was treated with a hard brace, and the fracture healed. Case 2 involves a 76-year-old female patient with ankylosing spondylitis (ankylosis from C7 to L2) who had two episodes. At the first episode, she suffered paraplegia due to a T8 vertebra fracture. The patient was treated with laminectomy and posterior segmental screw instrumentation. The patient recovered well and had all the hardware removed at 10 months postoperatively. Five years later, she had another fall and suffered a threecolumn fracture at L1. The patient underwent percutaneous segmental screw instrumentation. The patient required revision surgery with L1 laminectomy and L1 right pediclectomy for persistent right inguinal pain. At one-year follow-up, the patient recovered well, and the fracture healed. Conclusions: The abovementioned cases show that an age older than 75 years and a long spinal ankylosis from the cervical spine to the lumbar spine may serve as risk factors for the repetition of vertebral fractures associated with ankylosed spinal disorders.