J Korean Orthop Assoc.  2019 Feb;54(1):9-17. 10.4055/jkoa.2019.54.1.9.

Management of Elderly Patients with Spinal Disease: Interventional Nonsurgical Treatment

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Orthopedic Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea, Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital, Uijeongbu, Korea. sooan.park@gmail.com

Abstract

Owing to the upward shift in age structure, there is an increasing number of spinal diseases specific to elderly patients. Elderly spinal patients typically have a poor general condition with several medical comorbidities, low bone mineral density, more extensive and severe degeneration, and less effective treatment outcomes than young patients. This is why spinal physicians need to establish interventional nonsurgical treatment modalities for elderly patients with spinal disease. The objective of this study was to define the spinal disorders problematic to elderly patients and discuss the nonsurgical treatments for each subject.

Keyword

elderly; spinal disease; treatment

MeSH Terms

Aged*
Bone Density
Comorbidity
Humans
Spinal Diseases*

Figure

  • Figure 1 A case of 72-year-old male patient with traumatic central cord syndrome devoloped by the extension cervical injury: (A) Preoperative lateral plain radiograph. (B) Preoperative magnetic resonance sagittal image. (C) Postoperative lateral plain radiograph. (D) Postoperative sagittal computed tomography image, reconstructed.

  • Figure 2 Artistic depiction of degenerative cervical myelopathy.11) CSF, cerebrospinal fluid; lig., ligament.

  • Figure 3 Classification of cervical disc herniation to affect clinical outcomes.18)

  • Figure 4 A case of 84-year-old male patient with severe lumbar spinal stenosis developed by the degeneration of all lumbar segments.

  • Figure 5 An example of spinal brace designed for counteracting forward bending of the trunk that was used in a study by Pfeifer et al.29)


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