A bone fracture is a type of injury that can affect both children and adults. If you have certain bone diseases such as osteoporosis that affects the bone density, you are more likely to have bone fractures. You need to get...
Any trauma caused to the bones leading to its breakage is medically called the bone fracture. A bone fracture can be caused due to many reasons such as trauma or other medical conditions can lead to repetitive fractures such as osteoporosis.
There can be different ways to manage bone fractures, if you have a severe bone fracture you might need surgery whereas for simpler fractures, splints, casts, slings or braces might be sufficient.
What Are the Types of Fractures?
Fractures can be of various types such as
- Greenstick fracture- A portion of bone is broken in this type of fracture. It is a type of incomplete fracture
- Spiral- It happens in a twisting type of injury, spirals around the bone are broken in this type of fracture.
- Oblique- A beak can be appreciated in the bone
- Transverse- This type of fracture breaks the bone producing a straight line across it.
- Segmental- A single bone is broken from more than one site, usually two, completely which creates a floating bone.
- Comminuted- A single bone gets broken from 3 sites or more creating multiple fragments of the bone
- Compression- A crushing force that compresses it and widens the bone
Other Types of Fracture Include
- Open fracture- A fracture is called an open fracture when the fractured segment breaks through the skin. It is also known as compound fracture. An open fracture takes a longer period of time to heal. The chances of developing infections also increase in this type of fracture
- Closed fracture- A closed fracture is a fracture where the fragments of broken bone do not break through the skin. It can be a more severe type of fracture but the stabilization of this type of fracture becomes easier as it is still in place.
- Displaced fracture- When the broken fragments of the bone have moved far from the point of breakage,it is known as a displaced type of fracture.
- Non-displaced fracture- A fracture where the segments of the broken bone have not moved very far from the site of fracture and are still in close proximity, it is known as a non-displaced type of fracture.
- Stress fracture- This type of fracture is caused due to stress such as caused in repetitive movements or overdue of the body part where bones get more pressure leading to a fracture or broken bone.
- Avulsion fracture- A fracture where the broken fragments of bone have displaced too much from its original place disconnecting from the tendons and ligaments, it is known as an avulsed fracture
- Buckle fracture- This type of fracture affects children more
Symptoms of Bone Fracture
Symptoms of bone fracture are
- Swelling at the site of fracture
- Pain at the site of fracture
- Tenderness
- Bruising or discoloration of the affected area
- Any kind of deformity or bump present on the body
- Difficulty to move the affected body part
- Warmth and redness at the site
- Bouts of pain
What Are the Causes of Bone Fracture?
A bone fracture can be caused due to various reasons, trauma being the most commonly incited factor. Any force such as hitting force can cause the bone to break. The most commonly induced traumatic factors are
- Accidents such as car accidents
- Sudden falls
- Injury while playing sports
- Direct blow to the bone
- Weakened bone such as in osteoporosis
- Repetitive movements or overuse of the body parts may cause muscles to tire which causes bones to put more pressure, thereby resulting in bone fracture also known as a stress fracture or athlete fracture
- Other diseases that reduce bone density might lead to fracture on slight trauma as well.
- Bone cancers also increase the chance of bone fracture
- Abuse such as child abuse
Diagnosis of a Fractured Bone
A bone fracture can be determined by various techniques such as
- X-Ray- an x-ray can determine whether the bone has a fracture. It can also determine the type of fracture.
- MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)- an MRI scan can give complete details of the bone along with its related structures such as cartilage and ligaments. Which helps in correct diagnosis of the bone fracture and its types.
- CT scan- A CT or computed tomography scan is also used in certain cases to obtain a detailed picture of the bones and related structures. It is a more detailed picture than an X-ray.
- Bone scan- bone scans can be done to obtain the pictures of the bones, these can diagnose the fractures which do not show up in the X-ray. This scan usually takes two visits which are placed four hours apart.
Other tests which may help in diagnosing the etiology of bone weakness and fracture may include
- Blood tests
- Bone calcium test
- vit-D levels
- Bone phosphate levels
- DEXA scan
- Urinary N-telopeptide
- Osteocalcin
- ALP or BALP levels (bone-specific alkaline phosphatase)
Treatment of the Fracture of Bones
Bones have the capability to heal themselves, although certain measures can help improve the quality of healed bone and to ease the process.
Certain such measures are as follows
- Pain relief- medications can help relieve the pain of a broken bone
- Traction- traction is typically a technique which helps align the broken bones or the dislocated bones into the correct place of the body.
- Plaster coat- a plaster coat provides a good support and also immobilised the bone which may help its healing.
- Braces- the braces are used to support the bones
- Splints - splints help immobilise the bone as any movement in the bone can cause obvious pain and discomfort along with delayed or incorrect healing.
- Surgical plan- there might be a need for surgery which helps hold the bone pieces together in place.
Conclusion
Bone fractures can potentially damage the limb efficiency, work capability and in turn the conduct of daily life as well. Bone health can potentially get damaged due to certain diseases such as osteoporosis. Therefore Getting a correct diagnosis and choosing correct diagnostic centre becomes important.
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