Broken Bone or Fracture Injuries

Fractures and Fractured Bones

One of the most common types of injuries sustained in an accident is a broken bone. A broken bone is a serious and painful injury. Treatment of a broken bone may require casting and in certain instances surgery.

An adult human has 206 bones in their body. Any of which can be fractured in a serious accident. Some may result in seemingly benign fractures like a broken toe or result in more serious life-threatening fractures like a broken hip in a senior citizen.

Treatment of Fractures

After you have fractured a bone your doctor will determine what treatment is necessary to ensure that the fracture heals properly.

A closed reduction may be performed by your doctor. The doctor will, through the feel of the fracture beneath the skin and the help of an x-ray, align the fractured bone so that it heals properly. Once the doctor feels that the bone is it in its proper position, the doctor will immobilize the fracture with a plaster cast. .

When a doctor needs to surgically open the fracture site to realign the bones, this is know as an open reduction. The doctor will insert a surgically insert an device, such as a plate or pin, to keep the bone straight and rigid.

Hip fractures, particularly in older patients, may require that the hip be replaced with a prosthetic device. During surgery, the operating doctor carefully protects undamaged tissue in the area and preserves the blood supply to the fractured bone fragments.

Less serious fractures may require an external splint without having to manipulate the bone. Other fractures may require the patient to simply wear an arm sling. An open bone fracture may require specialized emergency care to minimize the risk of infection.

A fractured bone takes time to heal. As with all fractures the length of time depends on the patient and varies depending on age, the location of the bone fracture, the type of bone fracture, and the blood supply to the area. Children, typically heal faster than adults. A fractured bone in a 4 year old may heal in three weeks where it may take up to three months for an adult fracturing that very same bone.

If the fractured bone requires long periods of immobilization, the surrounding muscles, over time could atrophy and cause stiffness. Your doctor, most likely, will prescribe physical therapy after your immobilization to strengthen your muscles and to keep your joints working properly.

Contact Us