Fracture
What is fracture?
A fracture is a break in the bone caused by applying more force to the bone than it can tolerate. Broken bones are another term for fractures.
What are the causes of fractures?
Fractures most commonly occur when more stress is given to the bone than it can withstand. When bones are twisted, they become the weakest.
Bone fractures can occur as a result of a fall, an injury, or a direct hit or kick to the body.
Overuse or repetitive actions can exhaust muscles and increase bone pressure. This results in stress fractures.
Diseases that weaken the bone can also cause fractures. This includes osteoporosis and bone cancer.
What are the signs and symptoms of a fracture?
Each person’s symptoms may be slightly different. Among the symptoms of a broken or fractured bone are:
– Sudden pain
– Having difficulty while moving the affected area or adjacent joints
– Unable to bear weight
– Swelling
– Deformity
– Redness, bruising, or warmth
How is a fracture determined?
Medical professionals will take a thorough medical history (including asking how the injury happened). The following tests may be performed to diagnose a fracture:
X-ray. A diagnostic procedure that uses invisible electromagnetic energy beams to create film images of inside tissues, bones, and organs.
MRI is an imaging technique that creates detailed images of bodily structures by using magnetic waves.
A CT scan was performed. This is an imaging test that makes detailed images of the body using X-rays and a computer. A CT scan provides information on the bones, muscles, fat, and organs.
Types Of Fracture and its Treatment
Stable Fracture
This is the type of fracture that occurs when a bone is injured and breaks, with all of its parts in place. This means that the bone remains in the same location as before.
Stable fracture treatment: The doctor will just immobilize the bone because this form of fracture does not require realignment. After that anti-inflammatory drugs can be used by the patient to relieve discomfort.
Compound Fracture
One of the most serious injuries is: When a bone breaks, it pierces the skin, resulting in a complex or open fracture. Because of the severity of the condition and the risk of infection, surgery is frequently required.
Treatment for a Compound Fracture: This is a life-threatening injury. The patient will almost certainly require surgery to clean the region, remove debris, and fix the fracture. The patient will require a tetanus shot as well as antibiotics.
Transverse Fracture
A transverse fracture occurs when the bone is broken at a 90-degree angle and straight across. It occurs when the impact is perpendicular to the area of harm.
Transverse Fracture Treatment: The doctor will realign the bones by open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) method. Once the bone fragments have been aligned, the bone will be immobilized using a standard cast or splint.
Comminuted Fracture
A comminuted fracture breaks the bone into pieces. It is more likely to occur in the hands or feet following significant trauma, such as a car accident.
Treatment for a Comminuted Fracture: Because the bones are fractured, this form of fracture necessitates surgery to avoid further harm to nearby organs, nerves, ligaments, arteries, and veins.
Oblique Fracture
When a bone fractures at an angle, it is called an oblique fracture. It is especially common on long bones, such as the femur or tibia. A noticeable malformation beneath the skin results from this type of injury.
Treatment for an Oblique Fracture: Treatment for an Oblique Fracture varies based on the degree of the injury. If the fracture is mild, conservative therapy (such as immobilization of the bone with a cast) will suffice.
Hairline Fracture
A hairline fracture, also known as a stress fracture, most commonly occurs on the legs and feet. It is caused by repetitive movement and happens when athletes increase the frequency or intensity of workouts such as running or jogging suddenly.
Symptoms include pain while playing in your favorite sport, pain that goes away when you rest, swelling, soreness, and bruising.
Hairline Fracture Treatment: The most important thing you can do to treat a stress fracture is to rest. Take a break from exercise. Your doctor will recommend a certain resting time frame based on the severity of the injury. Additionally, ice the injury location for up to 20 minutes at a time multiple times a day, and elevate the foot or leg.
Avulsion Fracture
Avulsion fractures are breaks in the bone where it connects to a tendon or ligament. When this happens, the tendon or ligament pulls away from the bone to which it is linked.
Avulsion Fracture Treatment: Most avulsion fractures do not require surgery unless the detached bone fragment is located at a large distance from the bone. The doctor will tell you to rest and ice the injury, and will recommend particular range-of-motion exercises.
Greenstick Fracture
A Greenstick fracture occurs when a portion of the bone breaks but does not break entirely through. The shattered piece of the afflicted bone may also bend. Children are the most vulnerable to this form of harm.
Greenstick Fracture Treatment: If the bone is curved, the doctor will manually straighten it.Furthermore, instead of a cast, the patient can wear a detachable splint.
Spiral Fracture
This occurs when a bone is wrenched by a limb’s strong rotation or twisting. It produces a clean break in which the bone entirely splits into two parts.
Treatment for a Spiral Fracture: Because the twisting action results in jagged edges on the bone, the healing process for a spiral fracture is more complicated than for other types of fractures. In most cases, surgery is required to straighten the bones and secure them with screws, pins, or rods. Following surgery, the patient will wear a cast and will get physical rehabilitation before returning to their normal activities.
Pathological Fracture
Pathological fractures occur when a patient suffers from a bone-weakening ailment, such as osteoporosis, arthritis, osteomyelitis, osteosarcoma, or metabolic bone abnormalities.
Treatment for a Pathological Fracture: Treatment for a Pathological Fracture is dependent on the underlying condition that produced the fracture. If the sickness does not impair the body’s capacity to heal, the patient will merely need to wear a cast to keep the limb immobilized. Surgery will be required if a disease has damaged the body’s ability to heal.