Spinal Treatment Study Raises Questions

A treatment for spine fractures doesn’t seem any more effective than placebo, a study has found. Vertebroplasty involves injecting a special cement into the spine of people with fractures. But people who got a fake procedure — an injection with no cement — did just as well in terms of pain relief and recovery. The study focused on spinal fractures caused by osteoporosis, or thinning of bones. It was published in the August 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Several media wrote about the study, including Reuters and the New York Times.

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