M48.4

Header — not billable

Fatigue fracture of vertebra

The ICD-10 code for fatigue fracture of vertebra is M48.4.

M48.4 is a non-billable header code. It groups related conditions but cannot be used on its own for reimbursement — select one of the 9 more specific codes below.

Clinical notes

Excludes1 (not coded here)

An Excludes1 note is a pure exclusion: the excluded condition and this code should never be reported together, because the two conditions cannot occur at the same time (e.g. a congenital form vs. an acquired form of the same disease).

pathological fracture NOS (M84.4-)
pathological fracture of vertebra due to neoplasm (M84.58)
pathological fracture of vertebra due to other diagnosis (M84.68)
pathological fracture of vertebra due to osteoporosis (M80.-)
traumatic fracture of vertebrae (S12.0-S12.3-, S22.0-, S32.0-)

Also known as

Alternate wording, synonyms, or specific conditions that fall under this code, listed to help confirm you've picked the right one.

Stress fracture of vertebra

7th character definitions

These definitions specify what each valid 7th-character value means for codes in this category.

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7th character note

This category requires a 7th character to indicate additional clinical detail (e.g. encounter type: initial, subsequent, sequela). The code is incomplete without it.

The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from subcategory M48.4:

Documentation support

General coding-documentation guidance — not a substitute for payer-specific requirements or professional coding judgment.

•This is a non-billable header code. Documentation must support a more specific child code before this diagnosis can be reported on a claim.
•Confirm the excluded condition(s) listed above are not also present — Excludes1 conditions cannot be coded together with this one.
•This category requires a 7th character. Documentation should clearly indicate the episode of care (initial encounter, subsequent encounter, or sequela).
•As a general rule, code to the highest level of specificity supported by the documentation in the medical record.