Managing spinal fractures in myeloma Infoguide

This Infoguide contains information about spinal fractures and vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) in myeloma, including what they are, why they occur in myeloma, and how they are diagnosed and treated.

This Infoguide covers key questions and topics about spinal fractures in myeloma, including:  

• What are spinal fractures and vertebral compression fractures, why do they occur, and what complications can they cause? 
• How are spinal fractures diagnosed? 
• Preventative and non-surgical treatment for spinal fractures 
• Surgical procedures (percutaneous vertebroplasty and balloon kyphoplasty) and their potential benefits and risks  
• Top 10 tips for living with spinal fractures in myeloma 

Key points you can read about in this Infoguide include:  

• Myeloma bone disease is the most common feature of myeloma, and can cause complications including pain and fractures 
• Fractures occurring in the bones of the spine (vertebrae) are called spinal fractures. Spinal fractures can cause collapse of the bones of the spine, called vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) 
• VCFs can result in pain, loss of height and kyphosis (abnormal curvature of the spine), and sometimes other complications such as mobility issues and breathing difficulties 
• VCFs can also be caused by a localised build-up of cells called a plasmacytoma 
• When a VCF puts pressure on the spinal cord, this is called spinal cord compression. This is a medical emergency and needs urgent treatment 
• Spinal fractures may be investigated using X-rays, CT scans and MRI scans 
• Non-surgical treatments include radiotherapy, bisphosphonates to treat the underlying bone disease, and painkillers 
• Surgical intervention will benefit patients in some situations  
• Percutaneous vertebroplasty involves injection of bone cement into the affected bones, to stabilise them 
• Balloon kyphoplasty is similar, but involves inserting a small balloon to lift the collapsed section of bone before the bone cement is injected 
• Surgical interventions are not suitable in all circumstances, but can have a number of benefits for patients 

Managing spinal fractures in myeloma Infoguide

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