Fracture - A Common Problem

Fracture is a medical term given to a broken bone. It can be treated very well if you take care of it properly.  Most of us suffer from this problem at one point in our life. It has been calculated that a human being can have two fractures in his lifetime. Are you also facing the problem of a broken bone?

Generally, a fracture is closely associated with the car accidents. It can occur due to accidental falls or some trauma. A sudden slip can be dangerous, if not taken care of. Even some types of cancer may result in broken bones eventually. It may also be caused by thinning of the bones among adults.

 Various treatments for fractured bones are available in the market. The treatment is different for each type of fractures. Splinting is the most common method used in treating fractured bones.  Splinting is still one of the methods used until today.

Casting is another method used for treating injuries involving fractured bones. Splinting is removed after a few days. Doctor uses a casting method for the treatment of a broken bone.

In case of serious injuries like compression fractures, braces are used. The vertebroplasty treatment is adopted to recover from the same condition too, especially the ones in the spinal cord.

Surgery is beneficial in open fractures. They are prone to infection as the broken comes in contact of the air. So, surgery is essential in this case. Metallic plates are also used to provide hardware support to the multiple fractured bones.

In short one thing I can say that it is not good to avoid treatment for broken bones. You must take these cases seriously.

Problems I Faced Due to Bone Fracture

We all know that fracture means break in the bone. When we have fractured limbs I’m sure it becomes quite difficult to perform our daily activities with efficiency. Today I am going to share my experience about the problems I faced due to a fractured limb when I had a fractured bone in my hand near the wrist.

I had a bone fracture when I was twelve. I accidently fell down from a chair. My right hand wrist struck to the table. I was crying due to pain and the fractured area got swelled up. My parents immediately consulted a physician and I had an x-ray of my wrist. From the x-ray, the physician assessed that it was a closed fracture.

It would take about a month to heal the injury to my limbs. Splinting was the only option for the treatment. So, splinting was done on my right hand. Due to splinting, I was unable to perform in my school cultural program. I wished that the speed of bone healing becomes faster in any way.

Do you know some ideas or tips to speed up the process of fracture healing?

I am sure you want to know about the tips to make faster bone healing.

Besides medicine drink green tea. Green tea has some anti-oxidants which will improve the speed of fracture healing.  Applying heat and warmth to the injury site is another remedy for faster bone healing.

Thus you can follow these techniques whenever you get affected by a fractured bone for temporary relief.

Advanced treatment for compression fracture

You can be the one suffering from the compression fractures. Just be cautious if you have pain in your backbone. It can be on your upper back or near the neck. You can suffer from the compression fracture if you become careless about your health. Symptoms like back pain, weakness and restlessness could indicate a fractured bone.  You can also suffer from fever. If you are facing any of these symptoms, consult a doctor immediately.

You certainly need medical help. A doctor will take the history of your pain. He can evaluate pain in the following cases:

·       A person suffering from cancer

·       A person having Osteoporosis

·       A person suffering from continuous weight loss

·       A person of older age

·       If the person is having same amount of pain at rest, as during his daily activities

If you have a compression fracture and you cannot resist pain you can go for the advanced treatment for faster healing. Vertebroplasty is the new technique for the spinal cord fracture.

Vertebroplasty is the advanced treatment for fractures in the spinal cord. It was developed by Dr. Deramond in France. Dr. Deramond, along with his colleagues, developed this technology in 1984. For the past 20, years this technology has been used in the treatment of compression fractures in the United States. 

This method helps to reduce pain and helps in faster recovery of the fractured spinal cord.

There are many other tips to get fast relief and vertebroplasty is one of them. It can be quite risky but if it works, it would help relieve you in a lot of ways.

Average Fracture Healing Time

There are 206 bones in the human skeletal system .What would happen if one of these bones get fractured? No doubt you will be in trouble. A fracture can hinder all of your daily activities. If proper treatment and care is not given, it would possibly become an even bigger problem. It takes a lot of time to heal a broken bone. The fracture healing depends on the bone which is broken. I am going to discuss how much time a bone requires to heal up properly.

This is rough estimation. Remember the fracture healing depends on the affected bone. It will also depend on whether you are into drinking and smoking. These two things can slow down the healing procedure.

If the fractured bone has undergone a surgery, it will also take more time as compared to normal fracture. Here I am sharing a chart that can help you find the average healing time for your broken bone:

·       Collar bone takes 3-8 weeks.

·       Shoulder bone takes 6 weeks.

·       Ribs take 4 weeks.

·       Upper arms take 4-10 weeks.

·       Lower arms take 6 weeks.

·       Wrist takes 4-12 weeks.

·       Upper leg takes 12 weeks.

·       Lower leg takes 10-24 weeks.

·       Foot takes 3-12 weeks.

You can observe one thing though; the weight bearing bones of the lower legs take more time to heal. A fractured foot also takes 3-12 weeks because they support your body. The duration of the healing process is much longer in such cases.

The main thing that I want to discuss is that if you use that part of body more then naturally it will take more time to heal up. Actually, the white blood corpuscles in our body are responsible mainly for natural healing.                                                                                                                                   

Exogen and Fracture Healing

Exogen is an ultrasound machine. It was made by Smith and Nephew. It is a machine which accelerates the fracture healing. The ultrasound is needed for 20 minutes each day at the injury site. This treatment can stimulate your bone and heal the fracture at a faster speed.

It has proven to be helpful in the non-union fractures that will not heal.

- The freshly broken bone is healed 38% faster with the use of Exogen than the other methods used for fracture healing.

- In case of non –unions, the healing speed is 86%.

- It takes 20 minutes of your time daily.

With the use of the Exogen machine, you direct the ultrasound waves at the fractured bones just for 20 minutes. You have to repeat the process daily. The Exogen Kit contains a foot strap, ultrasound machine, two bottles of ultrasound coupling gel, and a booklet of instructions. Exogen is a wonderful machine for many fractured patients. This new healing system can be used by the patient at home. The technology used in Exogen system is already proven to be very successful and works with all types of broken bones.

It helps to speed up the healing process, which may be delayed by the intake of alcohol and smoking. It also helps patients suffering from systemic diseases like obesity, diabetes and osteoporosis.

These risk factors can be lower in the healing process of a broken bone when Exogen is used. Exogen ultrasound accelerates the speed up to 50% even among the patients who smoke. It is a revolutionary machine in treating fractured bones.

Fracture in Children

Fractures in children are very common. Children are active and their adventurous nature sometimes creates problems for them. Children can break bones while they play, run, fall or take a sudden slip.  The bones of children are very soft as compared to adults. Their bones can easily break but they heal much faster than adults too.

The duration of fracture healing is half of the time as in adults in same type of broken bone. This injury can easily be diagnosed in an X-ray.

There are several reasons why children get fractured so easily when compared to adults. Following are some of these reasons:

1.     The bones in children mature at a different time as compared to adults. They have more cartilage than calcium.  The bones of the children have low calcium content so they can get fractured easily. In order to prevent broken bones, children must take the proper amount of calcium in the form of their food. Food rich in calcium should be given to the growing children.

2.     Every bone has some areas called growth plates where the bone grows. It is the point in the bone where it has maximum cell activity. It is also its weakest point. It is the point where child can get a fracture so easily. These areas appear as lucent lines in the X- ray and are sometimes difficult to diagnose.  Fractures near the growth plate must be aligned well because it can have certain parts on both the sides of the plate.

Thus it is very important to follow some quick first aids for fractured bone cases in children.

Some Initial Level of Fracture Treatment

Fracture is the separation of the bone into two or more than two parts. There are different types of fractured bones like open and closed types. Open fractured injuries are more challenging and they create a lot of problems for the physicians. In earlier time, we had limited technologies for fracture treatment. Most of these cases are treated by splinting and casting afterwards. 

This is the most reliable and one of the widely used treatments available in the past and in the present time as well. But it is not the only one treatment available for fractured bones. We have so many new technologies in medical sciences which are available for us. For complicated cases, splinting and casting method are not suitable. Firstly, they are surgically treated.

In open fractures, the bones may break into several parts, which need to be placed together, aligned and set during the treatment. These broken parts are pinned up by removable pins surgically so that the broken bone can heal properly. These pins can be removed later.

In a comminuted fracture, a permanent hardware is used for support. Metallic plates and rods are used as hardware support. During this type of surgery, the patient will feel stiffness and a lot of pain. This is quite painful so the physician only advises it when there is no other option available.

Healing process can be accelerated by dietary changes. Doctors advise to take food rich in calcium, protein and vitamin D for faster healing of the fractured bone. It would be better to consult a dietician for planning a balanced diet rich in calcium and vitamin D needed for your body. In addition to that, some medicines are also recommended so that healing process becomes faster.

Causes and Symptoms of Ankle Fracture

First, we will discuss about the causes of ankle fracture.

When you stress an ankle joint beyond the strength of its elements, you injure the joint.

(i)             If only the ligaments give way and tear, you have sprained the ankle.

(ii)           If a bone gives way and breaks, you have a fractured ankle.

(iii)          Fractures can occur with simultaneous tears of the ligaments.

Other causes of the fractured ankle include rolling the ankle in or out, twisting the ankle side to side, extreme flexing or extending of the joint, or severe force applied to the joint by coming straight down on it as in jumping from a high level.

After that, I will tell you about the symptoms of the ankle fracture so you will understand the injury more easily:

Immediate and severe pain, Swelling, Bruising, Tender to touch, Cannot put any weight on the injured foot, and Deformity ("out of place"), particularly if the ankle joint is dislocated as well.

The most common symptoms of the ankle fracture are:

             (a)Pain is the most common complaint. Often the pain will not come from the exact area of the fracture. It is usually pain in the ankle that stops you from walking.

            (b) Swelling frequently occurs around the ankle too. This suggests that there could be either soft tissue damage with possible blood around the joint or fluid within the joint itself, most likely blood.

            (c) In severe fractures, you may see obvious deformities of bones around the ankle. Your skin may be stretched over an underlying broken bone.

Guide to Ankle fracture

Ankle fracture affects the gliding joint between the distal ends of the tibia and fibula and the proximal end of the talus. During a fractured ankle, one or more of the bones that make up the ankle joint are separated into pieces. There may be ligaments damaged as well. This fracture mostly happens when the pressure is concentrated more on the ankle. The range of fractured ankle usually includes breaks in one bone, which may not stop you from walking, to several fractures, which force your ankle to be out of place.  It may require that you not put weight on the ankle for three months. There are some causes of the ankle fracture, including the following:

1-In the time of "Twisting" or rotating your ankle.

2-When you “Rolled" your ankle.

3-In the time of Tripping or falling.

4-Impact during a car accident happen.

A fractured ankle can happen to anyone .It has happened approximately 184 per 100,000 person per year. From the report of the doctors, this case is increasing day by day.

Now I am going to tell you the structure of ankle joint. It is made up of three bones, namely Tibia, Fibula or Talus. Two joints are involved in the ankle fracture. The first joint is called ankle joint and the other one is Syndesmosis (the joint between the tibia and fibula, which is held together by ligaments).

 Now I give you the details about the bones.

(a)   Tibia Bones->It is the primary bone of the lower leg that comprises the medial aspect of them                   anklebone.

(b)   Fibula Bones->It is a smaller sized bone that parallels the tibia within the lower leg as well as comprises the lateral aspect of the anklebone.

(c)    Talus Bones-> The ankle joint is formed by the talus and the bottom of the tibia and fibula that rest upon it.

Relationship Between Osteoporosis and Bone Fracture

Osteoporosis disease happens only due to low bone mass and loss of bone tissue that may lead to weak and fragile bones. If you are suffering from this disease then the risk of having bone fracture is so high. It may be in the hip, spine or wrist. The damage from osteoporosis begins much earlier in life because peak bone density is reached at approximately 25 years of age. It is important to build strong bones by that age, so that the bones will remain strong later in life. Adequate calcium intake is an essential part of building strong bones.

 Most people who have osteoporosis won't ever know it before they fracture a bone. Not even an x-ray done at your doctor's office is helpful, since a person would need to lose 30-50% of their bone density before it could be detected with a normal x-ray test.

Women are the ones mostly suffering from osteoporosis. According to studies, you can find more than 80% of the total population of women suffering from Osteoporosis. And this percentage is increasing from year to year. In other countries like the United States, there are 10 million people already have Osteoporosis.

There is test which is used to check your bone density and determine if you are at risk for fracture. It is called DEXA, which stands for Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry. The test will produce two scores that are used to determine your risk to having bone fractures.

Osteoporosis occurs when there is an imbalance between the new bone formation and old bone desorption. To avoid fractures, you have to take the precaution to save yourself from Osteoporosis too.

 

Value of Vitamin D for Fracture Prevention

What is role of vitamin D in preventing fracture? Firstly, I wanted to tell you that Vitamin D is a steroid hormone which is produce by the sun light when it touches our skin.   What it really does is to stimulate peptides, the tiny defense mechanisms in our immune system, which destroy microbes and germs. After that I am going to tell you what vitamin-D can do for the human body.

Vitamin D assists the body to soak up as well as to utilize the calcium from food and supplements. It supports bone and tooth development in addition to sustaining the bones throughout the entire body, contributing to greater bone wellness and less threat of getting fractures.

Experts have reiterated that rickets conditions in kids may be improved with Vitamin D, as well as problems for individuals during their forties. Additional research has demonstrated that women who are vulnerable to weakening of bones may protect themselves by supplementing with this vitamin D.  It aids joints and muscle mass, which are extremely important for all of us and mainly for sportsmen.  It safeguards the immune health, fights against infections and inflammations, and contributes to the welfare of each of the body features.

These are all the functions of Vitamin-D for the human being. There are also other benefits of this vitamin that I want to share with you. It inhibits 16 varieties of cancer, such as breast, prostate, and colon cancer. It provides you with vigor in addition to boosting your disposition, protecting against depressive disorders. It fights tuberculosis. It has positive effects on unhealthy weight. Vitamin D also seems helpful for type 1 as well as type 2 diabetes patients.

Repair of Cheek Bone Fractures by Plastic Surgery

What is role of plastic surgery in treating a cheek bone fracture?  It is a facial fracture which is the result of being punched on the face or a sport injury. The cheek bone site is the most important part of the face. It is prone to accidents because it can get easily struck. It also gives protection to the eyes which are situated above and behind it. Through plastic surgery, the doctor gives a cover to the fractured area. The bulk of the cheek bone is what we see but it sticks out as such because it is attached by four 'legs' to the deeper parts of the face.

When the cheek bones break by any reason, which may be by accident or when playing sports, it could be a break from both sides, from the inside or from the outside. The cheek bone makes up a portion of the floor of the eye so a fractured cheek bone results in loss of cheek prominence and the eye fallen lower.

By resorting to plastic surgery, we can only cover the fractured cheek bone from the outside, but it takes time to fill it from the inside. It is not a miracle but a result of science research. Repairing cheek bone fractures involves putting it back in place and securing one or more of these legs with plates and screws. It is not only use during a fractured cheek bone, but it is also used to get rid of the signs of stress on the face. A lot of ladies are using this surgery to stay younger looking all the time. You can say that the role of the plastic surgery is critical to treating a fractured cheek bone.

Guide to Humerus Fracture

Humerus fracture is one of the most common types of fractured bones that can happen to both adults and in the children. The arm is made up three major bones. This type of fracture is usually caused in the time of slip and fall. When you fall then it may be possible for you to get fractured. The affected bones depend on how you fell and landed to the ground. If you fall on your arm, then your arm might have the fractured bones. If you fall on the leg side then your leg bone might get fractured. If you fall on an outstretched hand, the broken bone might be on your wrist and forearm. Aside from falling, humerus fracture might also be caused during auto accidents.

Today we are unable to take the right nutrients from the food that we eat. The cause of easily fractured bones is not so much so as lack of strength but lack of the proper nutrients that the bones need. Fractures of the hummers are common and have different effects on you depending on the site of fractured bone. If you fall from a small distance and you still break your bones, it could be due to lack of calcium that makes the bones brittle. A fracture in the surgical neck of a humerus may damage the nearby auxiliary nerve and limit abduction of the arm.

A fractured distal humerus remains a challenging reconstructive problem for orthopedic surgeons. This type of problem is usually common among adults. This is because adults are often negligent of the proper foods. They are diverting their attention and appetite to eating fastfood or junk food.

Bones and Bone Fracture

                                               

Today, I am going to tell you about the three major functions of the bone.

The first function involves the structure support for your heart, lung, marrow or the other organs and attachment sites for the muscles so that you can move your arm, leg and head.

The second function involves the protection for your brain and the internal organ.

The third function bone is that it acts as a mineral storage bank of calcium and phosphorus to maintain a proper acid/base balance in your body called pH.

You can say that your bones have more than just one function, which is why it is such a loss when you have bone fractures.

Now, I am going to share with you the importance of bone quality. Bone quality describes the components of strong and fracture free bones. So by weight, bone is composed of about 10% collagen matrix, 65% minerals and 25% water. It is not just the minerals but all three components working together that keep your bones strong and free from the risk of getting fractured.

When it comes to bone density numbers, a test is necessary called the DEXA test. By the DEXA test, you would be told if there is a change in your bone density. Your bone density was either normal or you received a diagnosis of osteoporosis or osteopenia.The DEXA score you received only tells you about the mineral density and content of the bone.

It is important to learn that no one factor by itself can predict fracture risk. This is why it is best to prevent the injury first.

Hip Fracture Overview

A hip fracture is a break in the upper portion of the femur (thigh) bone. It is a break in the area where the thighbone joins the pelvis to form the hip joint. You will likely need surgery, and it can take as long as a year to recover from the injury. Activity and physical therapy can help you get your strength and mobility back. If you are older, breaking your hip can mean a major change in your life. You are likely to need support from family or a caregiver as you recover.

Hip fracture is more than a broken bone. The extent of the break depends on the forces that are involved. It almost always completely breaks the bone. The type of surgery used to treat a fractured hip is primarily based on the bones and soft tissues affected or on the level of the injury to the hip.

A partial break in the bone (hairline fracture) may occur. But a partial break is not as common and may not show up on an X-ray. It is a serious injury that often requires surgery to repair. Every year in the United States alone over 300,000 people suffer broken hips and require hospitalization. Of that number, over half of those people suffering from hip fracture are over the age of 80.

This type of injury happens to people who are older in age. If this is the case, the injury can put the person in a critical condition. Without surgery, it is not possible to recover from the broken hip. So always use those types of precautions by which you can live safely from these types of problems.

Various Types of Fractures

“FRACTURE” is a break in the structure of the bones, as described in the medical term. Before the diagnosis however, doctors can’t consider the injury as a fractured type. There are thirteen types of fractures, namely:

1- Complete Fracture

2- Avulsion Fracture

3- Pathologic Fracture

4- Compressed Fracture

5- Comminuted Fracture

6- Incomplete Fracture

7- Greenstick Fracture

8- Oblique Fracture

9- Depressed Fracture

10- Spiral Fracture

11- Compound Fracture

12- Simple Fracture

13- Transverse Fracture

As for the “GREENSTICK FRACTURE,” it usually occurs at a young age in children. In this injury, one end of the bone is broken or dysfunctional while the second end is slightly curved or bent.

Fractured bones are treated largely depending on the doctor's findings after the diagnosis or the X-ray report. The X-ray report plays a vital role in the case of treating fractured bones. It also completes the diagnosis of the injury.

Now we talk about the “HIP FRACTURE.” There are three types of fractured hip cases, such as:

(a) Intracapsular Fracture

(b) Intertrochanteric Fracture

(c) Extracapsular Fracture

Back pain happens only because of fractured hips. If a doctor finds the location of the broken hip then he/she will also consider maturity, trauma, and multiple myeloma. There is a disease named osteoporosis, which usually happens among young women. Young women mostly contract this disease due to lack of calcium deposits on the bone.

Once the cause is found the doctor would consider studying the fracture. The doctor will try to find out when the injury happened and under how much stress the bone begins to break or stop holding weight. They will also consider tissue localization to avert edema, echymosis, muscle spasms, hemorrhage, and others.

Causes, Signs, and Symptoms of a Hip fracture

First of all, we will discuss about the causes of hip fracture.

Hip fractures are generally placed into two main classifications - a Femoral Neck Fracture or an Intertrochanteric Fracture. Both of these types of injuries are very serious and in most cases will necessitate surgery to repair broken bones.

Hip fractures most commonly occur from a fall or from a direct blow to the side of the hip. Some medical conditions such as osteoporosis, cancer, or stress injuries can weaken the bone and make the hip more susceptible to breaking. In severe cases, it is possible for the hip to break with the patient merely standing on the leg and twisting.

Some other details are given under related the cause of hip fracture:

Being female, your family history—being thin or tall or having family members who had fractures later in life, poor eating habits, or not getting enough calcium and vitamin D - can weaken bones. It can also be caused by not being active. Weight-bearing exercise such as walking can help keep bones strong. Smoking and medical conditions that cause dizziness or problems with balance, or conditions such as arthritis that can interfere with steady and safe movement, may also lead to accidents that can cause fractured hips. Taking certain medicines for these conditions may also lead to bone loss, which makes you susceptible to fractured bones.

Now I am going to tell you about the symptoms of a fractured hip:

1- The patient with a broken hip will have pain over the outer upper thigh or in the groin.

2- Immobility immediately happens after a fall.

3- Stiffness, bruising and swelling can be observed in and around your hip area.

4- Bone is completely broken; the leg may appear to be shorter than the noninsured leg.

5- The patient will often hold the injured leg in a still position with the foot and knee turned outward (external rotation).

6- Turning outward of your leg on the side of your injured hip