Sudden back pain after a fall — or in fragile bone, after something as small as a cough — can mean a broken vertebra. Dr. Hobbs evaluates spinal fractures, confirms whether the spine is stable, and treats them with the least invasive option that protects it.
A spinal fracture is a break in one of the vertebrae — the bones that stack to form the spine. By far the most common type is the vertebral compression fracture: the front of a vertebra collapses into a wedge shape, usually in bone weakened by osteoporosis. Higher-energy injuries — falls from height, car accidents — produce different patterns that can threaten the spinal canal.
A stable fracture holds its alignment under normal load and can heal in a brace or with activity modification. An unstable one can shift, and needs surgical stabilization to protect the cord and nerves.
Fragments pushed backward toward the spinal canal, or any leg weakness, numbness, or bladder or bowel change, turn a fracture into an urgent problem. Getting this call right is exactly what a neurosurgical evaluation is for.
The answers to those two questions separate fractures that heal in a brace from fractures that need urgent surgical stabilization.
Tap each type to see how the vertebra changes shape, and what that means for stability.
3D educational illustrations — not patient scans. Fracture patterns vary; stability is assessed with an examination and imaging.
Check any that apply. Educational only — not a diagnosis; a licensed clinician makes all care decisions.
Fracture care always runs on two tracks at once: heal this fracture, and protect the rest of the spine.
ABNS
Residency
M.D.Stability and nerve safety judged by a specialist trained for exactly that call.
University of Kentucky medical degree; University of Chicago neurosurgery residency, chief resident.
From bracing to augmentation to navigation-guided stabilization — matched to the fracture, not a default.
Bone-health evaluation after every fragility fracture — treating the disease, not just the break.
When hardware is needed, StealthStation navigation places every screw along a pre-planned path.
Practicing at Northwest Indiana's most preferred orthopedic and spine practice, with offices in Crown Point & Chesterton.
Stable or not? Nerves safe or not? Those answers come first — then the least invasive treatment that gets you healed and protected.
(219) 250-5010Monday – Friday · 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
500 E. 109th Avenue
Crown Point, IN 46307
601 Gateway Boulevard
Chesterton, IN 46304
Your next step
Jonathan G. Hobbs, M.D. is a board-certified neurosurgeon at Lakeshore Bone & Joint Institute. For questions about spinal fractures & compression fractures, call the office to arrange an individual evaluation and discuss which options may be appropriate.
Consultation offices: Crown Point, Chesterton. Your symptoms, examination, imaging, and prior treatment help guide the discussion.
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