Vertebral Insufficiency Fracture in Geriatric Patients: Case Reports

Insufficiency fractures are subtype of stress fractures which occur when normal or physiological stresses are placed on weakened bone. These fractures occur in a variety of conditions in which the mineral content or the elasticity of bone is abnormal. The most common cause of insufficiency fracture is postmenopausal osteoporosis. The other important causes are senile osteoporosis, osteomalacia, hyperparathyroidism, irradiation, corticosteroid treatment and rheumatoid arthritis. Insufficiency fracture should be suspected in a post-menopausal women presenting with severe groin and buttock pain and weakness. We presented here the clinical findings of vertebral insufficiency together pneumonia in a geriatric patient with postmenopausal osteoporosis.