What are the Most Common Causes of Fractures?
Your bones are extraordinarily strong, but they can sustain a fracture due to:
- Trauma: When your bones are healthy, it takes a strong force to make them break. Traumatic fractures are frequently caused by sports injuries, falls, and car accidents.
- Osteoporosis: Osteoporosis makes your bones weak and brittle, which means they can fracture with minimal force. If you develop osteoporosis in your spine, you’re susceptible to compression fractures that flatten the vertebrae.
- Overuse Injuries: Repetitive force or overuse creates small cracks in your bones called stress fractures. You can also develop stress fractures in any bone that’s weakened by osteoporosis.
- Disease: Although not as common, the presence of a bone disease such as a tumor can weaken the bone and lead to a fracture.
What Symptoms Indicate I Need Fracture Care?
Fractures are well-known for causing pain, swelling, bruising, and the inability to use the part affected by the broken bone. You may also notice that the area looks deformed because the bone is out of place, or the bone could break through your skin.
What are the Different Types of Fractures?
Your bones can break in different ways, creating specific types of fractures. These are a few examples:
- Oblique fracture: your bone breaks at an angle
- Spiral fracture: the break spirals around the bone due to a twisting injury
- Greenstick fracture: the bone is not completely broken apart
- Compression fracture: the bone is crushed
- Comminuted fracture: the bone breaks into three or more pieces
An open fracture occurs when a skin wound is created as the bone breaks. This type of fracture puts you at risk for infection.
What Should I Expect from Fracture Care?
The doctors at Wellington Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine provide comprehensive fracture care, from diagnostic X-rays to surgery when needed. Fracture care includes:
- Stabilization & Immobilization: All fractures must be stabilized and then immobilized while the bones heal. Stabilization refers to putting the bone pieces into their proper alignment and position, then keeping them in place with screws, plates, rods, or frames when needed. Your doctor immobilizes the fracture using a cast, splint, or brace, depending on the fracture’s location and severity.
- Rehabilitation: Your doctor at Wellington Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine determines when you can safely move the bone. As soon as you reach that stage, rehabilitation begins to restore strength, movement, and flexibility.
If you develop a fracture, you can count on receiving expert care at Wellington Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine. To schedule an appointment, call or book an appointment online today.
