Poster Presentation 51st International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine Annual Meeting 2025

Introduction

Thoracolumbar osteoporotic compression fractures are steadily increasing as many countries enter an aging society and are characterized by vertebral deformity and severe pain. In this study, we aimed to analyze the correlation between the degree of deformity and pain in patients with thoracolumbar osteoporotic compression fractures.

Methods

From 2022 to 2023, patients who were admitted for thoracolumbar osteoporotic compression fractures were retrospectively analyzed. At 3 months after fracture, spinal deformity parameters, including local kyphotic angle (LKA), Cobb's angle (CA), and compression rate (CR), were measured (Figure 1), and pain was assessed using visual analog scale (VAS) scores and analgesic medication use. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate correlations between each deformity parameter and pain. Patients were also classified into three groups based on insurance criteria for spinal deformity disability to compare pain differences.

Results

Thirty-three patients were included in the study. Among the three deformity parameters, CR showed a weak correlation with analgesic medication use (r=0.353, p=0.044), while none of the deformity parameters correlated with VAS scores (Figure 2). When classified according to insurance criteria for spinal deformity, there were no significant differences in analgesic medication use (p=0.595) or VAS scores (p=0.796) among the three groups.

Discussion

In patients with thoracolumbar osteoporotic compression fractures, only CR demonstrated a partial correlation with analgesic medication use, while LKA, CA, and insurance criteria for spinal deformity disability showed no significant correlation with pain parameters. The relationship between the degree of deformity and pain in thoracolumbar osteoporotic compression fractures remains unclear, suggesting the need for further research to investigate factors affecting chronic pain.

Figure 1. Radiologic spinal deformity parameters for vertebral compression fracture: local kyphotic angle (LKA), Cobb's angle (CA), and compression rate (CR)

Figure 2. Correlation analysis of spinal deformity and pain parameters at 3 months after fracture: (A) local kyphotic angle (LKA) and analgesic medication use, (B) Cobb's angle (CA) and analgesic medication use, (C) compression rate (CR) and analgesic medication use, (D) LKA and visual analog scale (VAS), (E) CA and VAS, (F) CR and VAS.