Fracture
A fracture is a broken bone. It requires medical attention.
Symptoms:
- Intense pain
- Deformity - the limb looks out of place
- Swelling, bruising, or tenderness around the injury
- Numbness and tingling
- Problems moving a limb
Types of fractures:
- Avulsion fracture - a muscle or ligament pulls on the bone, fracturing it.
- Comminuted fracture - the bone is shattered into many pieces.
- Compression (crush) fracture - generally occurs in the spongy bone in the spine. For example, the front portion of a vertebra in the spine may collapse due to osteoporosis.
- Fracture dislocation - a joint becomes dislocated, and one of the bones of the joint has a fracture.
- Greenstick fracture - the bone partly fractures on one side, but does not break completely because the rest of the bone can bend. This is more common among children, whose bones are softer and more elastic.
- Impacted fracture - when the bone is fractured, one fragment of bone goes into another.
- Hairline fracture - a partial fracture of the bone. It is harder to detect with routine x-rays.
- Longitudinal fracture - the break is along the length of the bone.
- Oblique fracture - a fracture that is diagonal to a bone's long axis.
- Pathological fracture - when an underlying disease or condition has already weakened the bone, resulting in a fracture (bone fracture caused by an underlying disease/condition that weakened the bone).
- Spiral fracture - a fracture where at least one part of the bone has been twisted.
- Stress fracture - more common among athletes. A bone breaks because of repeated stresses and strains.
- Torus (buckle) fracture - bone deforms but does not crack. More common in children. It is painful but stable.
- Transverse fracture - a straight break right across a bone.
Causes: Most fractures are caused by a bad fall or automobile accident. Healthy bones are extremely tough and resilient and can withstand surprisingly powerful impacts. Weaker bones and a greater risk of falling.
Diagnosis: X-Ray
Treatment:
Immobilization: To do this, you may need to wear a splint, sling, brace or cast. Restricting movement of a broken bone is critical to healing.
Setting the bone: If the patient has a displaced fracture, he may need to manipulate the pieces back into their proper positions a process called reduction. Depending on the swelling and amount of pain the patient may need a muscle relaxant or a sedative, even a general anesthetic before this procedure.
Medications: If the patient experiencing severe pain, he may need to take a prescription medication that contains a narcotic for a few days. To reduce pain and inflammation, doctor may recommend an over-the-counter pain reliever.
Therapy: Rehabilitation begins soon after initial treatment. Doctor may recommend physical therapy or additional rehabilitation exercises to restore muscle strength, joint motion and flexibility after sling or cast is removed.
Surgery: Surgery is required to stabilize some fractures. Fixation devices such as wires, plates, nails or screws may be needed to maintain proper position of your bones during healing. Keeping injury from elevating and moving it will decrease swelling.
