Value of MRI in assessing back pain after thoracolumbar osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures and discussion on the underlying mechanisms by tissue biopsy

摘要

Abstract Purpose The specific radiological feature of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs) is bone marrow oedema (BME) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, the relationship between BME and back pain (BP) is unclear. We investigated the value of MRI in assessing BP and discussed the relevant mechanisms by tissue biopsy.Methods One hundred nineteen patients with thoracolumbar OVCFs were included in this study. We divided all patients into two groups: the low-oedema group (BME?≤?75%) and the high-oedema group (BME?>?75%). To reduce the error generated in the acute phase of fracture, we separately analysed patients in phases I (within one month) and II (more than one month). We compared the differences between the groups using the Mann–Whitney U test and investigated the correlations using Spearman’s correlation test.Results The degree of BP was significantly correlated with BME (p?