Thoracic spine compression fracture in a patient with back pain.

A 55-year-old man was referred to physical therapy because of constant mid-back pain of 1 month's duration. Because of the strong suspicion for a fracture, thoracic spine anterior-posterior and lateral radiographs were ordered, which revealed compression deformities of the T6, T8, T9, and T12 vertebral bodies. An interventional radiologist ordered magnetic resonance imaging and believed the patient was a candidate for vertebroplasty, a technique in which medical grade cement is injected into a painful fractured vertebral body in an effort to stabilize the fracture.