Who is at risk for vertebral compression fractures?
Osteoporosis, thinning of the bone, is the single most important risk factor for developing VCF. In fact, about a quarter of post-menopausal women have VCFs. By age 80, two out of five women have had one or more VCFs. Once you have one osteoporotic VCF, there is a 20% chance that you will develop another VCF in the following year if osteoporosis is not treated.
Spinal tumors — metastasis, multiple myeloma, and intraosseous hemangioma — can also lead to VCFs. Though, this is much less common than osteoporotic VCFs.