Going by the findings of two new studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine, patients with osteoporosis do not stand to benefit any better from the common spine operation for relieving back pain, than what they do from sham therapy!

On the basis of tests separately carried out by two different teams of researchers - from Monash University in Malvern, Australia, and Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota - it was found that there was hardly any notable improvement in pain and spinal function in patients who underwent the vertebroplasty therapy, comprising injections of medical-grade cement for stabilizing a collapsed vertebra, vis-à-vis those patients who were given a make-believe treatment.

While the team of Australian researchers observed the results in 36 volunteers who received sham surgery and 35 patients who underwent spine surgery, and concluded that both groups did "just as well" in terms of pain and movement; the American team tested the two therapies on 131 patients, from 11 clinics in the US, UK and Australia, to arrive at the same conclusion.

Saying that the findings of the studies spell bad news for patients looking for faster relief from spinal compression fractures, Rachelle Buchbinder of Monash University said: "We had hoped this treatment might get the pain better quicker, but we couldn't demonstrate that. I don't think there's any place for vertebroplasty at the moment."