The risk factors of osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture accompanied with thoracolumbar fascial injury: a single-center retrospective study

This study aimed to review and analyze the risk factors associated with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs) accompanied by thoracolumbar fascia (TLF) injury. Data from 489 patients who were diagnosed with OVCFs between February 2017 and January 2020 at the Bone Injury Center of Yueyang Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital affiliated with Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine were included. Patients were divided into two groups with and without TLF injury) on basis of their diagnosis. We reviewed and analyzed the following data points from both groups to identify risk factors for OVCFs with TLF injury: sex, age, body mass index (BMI), bone density, cause of injury, time from symptom onset to diagnosis, season of onset, number and location of fractured vertebrae, degree of vertebral compression, extent of paraspinal muscle fat infiltration, history of chronic diseases (hypertension, diabetes), history of steroid use, and previous history of low back pain. Among the 489 patients, 230 were diagnosed with TLF injury. Univariate analysis revealed no significant association (P > 0.05) between the development of OVCFs with TLF injury and factors such as sex, BMI, cause of injury, history of chronic diseases (hypertension, diabetes), history of steroid use, or previous history of low back pain. However, age, bone density, time from symptom onset to diagnosis, season of onset, location of fracture, number of fractured vertebrae, vertebral compression ratio, and degree of paraspinal muscle fat infiltration were significantly correlated with the occurrence of OVCFs with TLF injury (P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis further revealed that age, time from symptom onset to diagnosis, bone density, and degree of paraspinal muscle fat infiltration as independent risk factors for OVCFs with TLF injury in both groups (P < 0.05). Our findings suggest that clinicians should pay close attention to age, bone density, time from symptom onset to diagnosis, and the degree of paraspinal muscle fat infiltration when evaluating patients for OVCFs with potential TLF injuries.