Fractures occur when bones break and crack under a force that exceeds the ability of the bone to bend. This trauma causes debilitating pain and loss of function at the site of injury. Fractures are caused by falls, sports injuries, motor accidents, and medical conditions such as osteoporosis. Most fracture care in Las Vegas is provided by a team of experts at Battle Born Bone & Joint Center to alleviate the pain during your recovery period and avoid future amputation of the affected area.
Types of fractures
As much as bones are rigid, they bend when an outside force is applied, and when the force is great, it causes the bones to crack or break, causing excruciating pain. The bones can partially or entirely break, resulting in the following common types of fractures;
- Stable fractures: The fractured pieces are well aligned and stable
- Unstable fractures: Fragment of broken bones are misaligned and displaced
- Compound fractures: Severe open fractures in which bones cut through the skin
- Greenstick fractures: Occur in children causing small, slender cracks in the bones
- Hairline fractures: Occur due to repeated stress from activities such as running and jogging
Causes of fractures
Traumatic incidents such as sporting injuries, overuse, vehicle accidents, and falls are common causes of broken and cracked bones.
Additionally, conditions such as osteoporosis and bone cancer cause bones to fracture, causing severe pain.
Symptoms
- Pain and swelling
- Bruising and deformity
- Malformation and inability to function of the affected areas, such as limbs and arms.
- Extreme tenderness
Diagnosis
Your physician will conduct a physical exam of your medical conditions such as osteoporosis and bone cancer and ask you about your pain severity level.
X-ray, MRI, and CT scans are then used to evaluate the degree of fracture.
Fracture care and treatments
Fracture care and treatments are aimed at realigning the bones to get you back to your normal functioning. Therefore, fracture healing depends on the alignment and immobilization as follows;
- Stress sharing devices to promote secondary and rapid healing of bones with callus formation.
- Stress shielding devices promote slower and primary bone healing
- Soft tissue massage to manage swelling and edema
- Joint manual therapy and mobilization help regain joint mobility
- Ultrasound-guided joint injections are used to alleviate pain due to inflammations caused by broken pieces of bones in the joints.
- Nutritional changes such as high calcium foods in your diet, such as dairy products, beans, vegetables, whole grain, nuts, and seeds, helps your bones to overcome fractures and the injured ones to heal faster.
- Avoid anti-inflammatory medications since they slow down the healing process of the fracture by blocking inflammation.
- Surgically inserted metal rods and plates are used to hold bone pieces together hence preventing pain.
- Immobilization devices such as splints, traction, braces, and plaster casts help support, stop the movement of the broken limb and immobilize broken bones.
Talk to a fracture care specialist today
Bone fractures result from various activities such as sporting, overuse during lifting, and problems such as bone cancer. With treatment, they result in serious complications such as blood loss, organ injury, and stunted growth of bones. Book an appointment with a team of experts at Battle Born Bone & Joint Center and get rid of the excruciating pain of the fracture once and for all.
