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menopausal women, increased age, a family history of osteoporosis, anorexia, tobacco abuse, sedentary lifestyle, use of certain therapeutic drugs and excessive alcohol use.

“Patients who have an osteoporotic fracture are in constant pain and can nor-mally not get any relief from their discom-fort,” explained Dr. Overton. “Plus, they are at greater risk for thromboembolism, skin breakdown, pressure ulcers and other

health problems. There are two interventional procedures that give patients almost imme-diate relief from the pain without surgery or a hospital stay.”

Vertebroplasty pro-vides relief by injecting surgical bone cement into the fractured bone. The procedure

is performed in an outpatient setting and only requires conscious sedation and local anesthesia. Using fluoroscopy as a guide, the interventional radiologist passes a fine gauge needle into the vertebral body and surgical cement is injected into the site.

the pain persists after six weeks or worsens, you need to seek advice from a specialist.

Compression Fractures can be RepairedAccording to Carroll Overton, MD, an interventional radiologist at Wake Radiol-ogy, he often treats patients who have spinal fractures due to osteoporosis. Osteoporosis is a progressive disease in which the bones become extremely porous and are subject to fracture. Each year, approximately 700,000 vertebral fractures occur in the United States each year due to osteoporosis. Cauca-sian women over age 50 with osteoporosis are at increased risk of spinal compression fractures. Dr. Overton says that nearly 25 percent of all women 65 years and older will suffer an osteoporotic vertebral fracture (VCF). A fracture can happen suddenly due to a fall or other trauma, but sometimes it is simply the result of severe osteoporosis.

Patients at higher risk include post-

That aching pain deep in your back that you’ve had for days just won’t go away. You’ve tried heat, ice, over-

the-counter medications, but the pain per-sists. You’re not alone. Back pain, particularly in the middle to lower back, is felt by nearly 90 percent of adults at some point in their lives. It’s estimated that more than 65 million Americans suffer from back pain each year.

Lower back pain is noted as the second most common cause of days lost at work. It’s also one of the main reasons people visit their doctor or emergency department.

Most back pain is caused by the wear and tear of everyday living. The older you are, the more likely you will have back pain. The most common causes include strained back muscles or ligaments from improper lifting or after an awkward movement. Others have pain due to herniated discs, nerve impingement, spinal problems and osteoporotic fractures.

In about 75 percent of the time, back pain can be treated conservatively with rest, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and/or physical therapy. Typically, most episodes of acute back pain heal in four to six weeks, but that’s not always the case. If

The cement hardens within 15 minutes, stabilizing the fracture and preventing fur-ther collapse. The procedure, which takes about 40 minutes and requires two hours of recovery, usually provides pain relief and increased mobility within 48 hours.

Kyphoplasty, performed similarly to vertebroplasty, uses a balloon to provide space to inject the cement. Dr. Overton says that kyphoplasty is typically used in repairing fractures that are more com-pressed or due to malignancy.

Epidural Injections Provide immediate Relief from Chronic Back PainIn cases where low back pain persists and is not related to a fracture, patients can get relief from epidural steroid injections through the sacral hiatus. William Vanar-thos, MD, musculoskeletal radiologist at Wake Radiology specializes in perform-ing these image-guided procedures using C-arm fluoroscopy or computed tomog-raphy (CT). According to Dr. Vanarthos, pain-reliving agents can be injected into the epidural space through the sacrum with the patients lying comfortably on

Getting Relief from Back Pain SuBmitted By Wake Radiology

continued on page 28

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Vicki Lawrence, of The Carol Burnett Show and Mama’s Family, as the keynote speaker. On October 27, there will be a Gathering of Friends Luncheon at the Sheraton Four Seasons, featuring Kelly Corrigan, author of The Middle Place. In the spring, Friends continues its partnership with the Women’s ACC Basketball Tournament at the Greensboro Coli-seum, where pink ribbons are handed out by the thousands to spectators, coaches and school officials. By the way, those ribbons are worn upside down for a reason. It’s part of Friends’ ongoing campaign to get everyone to think about breast cancer research in a new way: “early detection, a new direction.”

Cancer-free now for 20 years, Kaley has not lost any of her passion for trying to give women a head start in beating breast cancer.

“It’s not about predicting,” she said. “We don’t know what causes it. We don’t know how to cure it. But if we can intercept it early enough, you level the playing field.”For more information about Martha Kaley, Friends for an Earlier Breast Cancer Test, related events or how to become a sponsor, visit earlier.org. | Laura King is a Greensboro-based freelance writer.

their bellies. The procedure is used on patients suffering from intractable pain related to the low back, pelvis, and hips.

“These injections used to be done without imaging guidance, but now fluoroscopy and CT help us target the actual site of pain more effectively,” said Dr. Vanarthos. “The injected material is typically a combination of a numbing agent, such as lidocaine, and steroids. The injection is directed into the epidural space in such a way as to bathe the sacral nerve roots. The procedure only takes about five minutes and, on average, pro-vides complete pain relief for three to four months.”

Thanks to these advanced minimally invasive procedures, patients no longer have to live with chronic pain or undergo major surgery to achieve pain relief. In most cases, patients are able to return to their normal activities within a short recovery period.

Wake Radiology serves the Triangle area with 17 convenient locations and 58 board-certified radiologists with imaging subspecialties available at each location. For more information, visit the website at wakeradiology.com.

Breast Cancer Awareness continued from page 24

Back Pain continued from page 27