Comparison of Treatments of Osteoporotic Compression Fracture Using Rigid Brace, Soft Brace, and no Brace

Visual Analog Pain Scale (VAS) for Back Pain

The VAS for back pain comprised a 10-cm line with "none" (0) on one end and "disabled pain" (10) on the other. Participants were asked to place a mark on the 10-cm line, which represented his or her perceived level of back pain, and the measured distance (cm) from the mark to the zero point was considered the score.

Time frame: 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 12 weeks after injury

Oswestry Disability Index (ODI)

The ODI is a self-reported questionnaire measuring back-specific function including pain intensity, personal care, lifting, walking, sitting, standing, sleeping, sex life, social life, and traveling. The questionnaire consists of 10 items each with 6 response levels. Each item is scored from 0 to 5, and the total score is converted to a 0 to 100 scale (zero is equated with no disability and 100 is the maximum disability possible).

Time frame: at 2 weeks, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks after compression fracture.

General Health Status

The general health status was assessed with use of the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) at the initial enrollment and 12 weeks after compression fracture.The raw scores for the eight subscales and the two summaries of the SF-36 (Physical Function,Role Physical, Bodily Pain, General Health, Vitality, Social Function, Role Emotion, and Mental Health, as well as the Physical Component Summary \[PCS\] and the Mental Component Summary \[MCS\]) were transformed into norm-based 0-100 scale on the assumption that each question carries equal weight. The lower the score the more disability, and the higher the score the less disability. A score of zero is equivalent to maximum disability and a score of 100 is equivalent to no disability.