A fracture is the medical term for a broken bone.<\/span><\/span><\/span>A bone may be completely fractured or partially fractured in any number of ways (crosswise, lengthwise, in multiple pieces<\/span><\/span>. They occur when the physical force exerted on the bone is stronger than the bone itself. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Your risk of fracture depends, in part, on your age. Broken bones are very common in childhood, though children’s fractures are generally less complicated than fractures in adults. As you age, your bones become more brittle and you are more likely to suffer fractures from falls that would not occur when you were young.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Types of Fractures<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Bones are rigid, but they do bend or “give” somewhat when an outside force is applied. However, if the force is too great, the bones will break, just as a plastic ruler breaks when it is bent too far.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The severity of a fracture usually depends on the force that caused the break. If the bone’s breaking point has been exceeded only slightly, then the bone may crack rather than break all the way through. If the force is extreme, such as in an automobile crash or a gunshot, the bone may shatter.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n If the bone breaks in such a way that bone fragments stick out through the skin, or a wound penetrates down to the broken bone, the fracture is called an “open” fracture. This type of fracture is particularly serious because once the skin is broken, infection in both the wound and the bone can occur.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Common types of fractures include:<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Cause<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The most common causes of fractures are:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Symptoms<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Treatment.<\/b><\/p>\n All forms of treatment of broken bones follow one basic rule: the broken pieces must be put back into position and prevented from moving out of place until they are healed. In many cases, the doctor will restore parts of a broken bone back to the original position. The technical term for this process is “reduction.”<\/p>\n Broken bone ends heal by “knitting” back together with new bone being formed around the edge of the broken parts.<\/p>\n Surgery is sometimes required to treat a fracture. The type of treatment required depends on the severity of the break, whether it is “open” or “closed,” and the specific bone involved. For example, a broken bone in the spine (vertebra) is treated differently from a broken leg bone or a broken hip.<\/p>\n Doctors use a variety of treatments to treat fractures:<\/b><\/p>\n A plaster or fiberglass cast is the most common type of fracture treatment, because most broken bones can heal successfully once they have been repositioned and a cast has been applied to keep the broken ends in proper position while they heal.<\/p>\n The cast or brace allows limited or “controlled” movement of nearby joints. This treatment is desirable for some, but not all, fractures.<\/p>\n Traction is usually used to align a bone or bones by a gentle, steady pulling action.<\/p>\n In this type of operation, metal pins or screws are placed into the broken bone above and below the fracture site. The pins or screws are connected to a metal bar outside the skin. This device is a stabilizing frame that holds the bones in the proper position while they heal.<\/p>\n In cases where the skin and other soft tissues around the fracture are badly damaged, an external fixator may be applied until surgery can be tolerated. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n
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Cast Immobilization<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n
Functional Cast or Brace<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n
Traction<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n
External Fixation<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n