The treatment of symptomatic osteoporotic spinal compression fractures.

This clinical practice guideline is based on a series of systematic reviews of published studies on the treatment of symptomatic osteoporotic spinal compression fractures. Of 11 recommendations, one is strong; one, moderate; three, weak; and six, inconclusive. The strong recommendation is against the use of vertebroplasty to treat the fractures; the moderate recommendation is for the use of calcitonin for 4 weeks following the onset of fracture. The weak recommendations address the use of ibandronate and strontium ranelate to prevent additional symptomatic fractures, the use of L2 nerve root blocks to treat the pain associated with L3 or L4 fractures, and the use of kyphoplasty to treat symptomatic fractures in patients who are neurologically intact.