Adjacent level vertebral fractures are common in patients with osteoporotic wedge fractures,
but can theoretically be prevented with prophylactic vertebroplasty. Previous tests on
prophylactic vertebroplasties have been performed under axial loading, while in vivo
changes in spinal alignment likely cause off-axis loads. In this study we determined whether
prophylactic vertebroplasty can also reduce the fracture risk under off-axis loads. In a
previous study, we tested vertebral bodies that were loaded axially or 20° off-axis …