Monitoring Yourself For Spinal Compression Fractures
The health and integrity of your body's skeletal system plays a critical role in your overall comfort. Over time, the bones within your spinal column can sustain tiny cracks. These cracks are commonly referred to as compression fractures. If you are worried that compression fractures could compromise your ability to engage in daily activities comfortably, it can be beneficial to monitor yourself for signs of spinal compression fractures in the future.
Here are three things to be mindful of as you monitor yourself for signs of spinal compression fractures.
1. Increased back pain throughout the day.
One of the easiest ways to determine if you could have a spinal compression fracture is to keep tabs on your back pain throughout the day. While back pain is common (with an estimated 31 million Americans experiencing low-back pain at any given time), the sudden onset or worsening of back pain could be a symptom associated with compression fractures.
If you find that your pain becomes more acute when you lift a bag of groceries or twist from side to side, let your doctor know so that he or she can check you for compression fractures in the spinal column.
2. Decreased stature.
Another easy way to monitor yourself for spinal compression fractures is to track your height over time. As the bones in your spinal column begin to crack and fracture, then compress in size. This could result in a decrease in your overall height.
By tracking your height over time, you are able to identify when you start losing inches off your stature. Have your doctor check you for spinal compression fractures when you notice a steady decrease in your overall height.
3. An alleviation of your pain when lying down.
If you notice that your back pain is worse when standing or sitting than it is when lying down, this could be a sign that you are suffering from spinal compression fractures. When you stand or sit, the spine must bear the weight of keeping your torso upright. This places additional strain on the fractured bones, causing a marked increase in your pain levels.
Lying down alleviates the need for the spine to support the weight of the body, so the fractures are not agitated. Be sure to let your doctor know if your back pain decreases when lying down so that he or she can check for spinal compression fractures.
Being able to identify some of the signs associated with spinal compression fractures will allow you to monitor yourself for this condition in order to get treatment as early as possible. Read more information, such as at http://swfna.com, for more help.
