A vertebral compression fracture is a type of injury to one or more bones in your spine. Kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty are X-ray-guided procedures used to treat back pain from a vertebral compression fracture.

In both procedures:

• Your physician will place special needles into a fractured vertebra, which is a bone in your spine.
• They will add cement to stabilize and/or restore lost height from the fracture.

Kyphoplasty differs from vertebroplasty in that your physician will inflate a balloon within the fractured vertebra before adding cement.

Both of these procedures are done under light sedation in the office.