After a number of small compression fractures, your body begins to show the effects. The strength and shape of the spine can change. You lose height because your spine is shorter. Most compression fractures happen in the front of the vertebra. When you get enough of them, the front part of the bone can collapse. The back of the vertebra is harder, so it stays intact. That creates a wedge-shaped vertebra, which can lead to the stooped posture known as a dowager's hump. Doctors call it kyphosis.