BONE FRACTURES

What are Fractures?

• commonly referred to as a broken bone
• occur when the physical force exerted on the
bone is stronger than the bone itself
• risk of fracture depends, in part, on your age
• Fractures can occur in any bone but are most
likely to occur in the wrist, ankle or hip
• Complete Fractures the bone snaps into two
or more parts
• Incomplete fracthe bone cracks but does not
break all the way through
 1.Simple Fracture
• Simple fracture/closed fracture, the bone breaks
but there is no open wound in the skin.
• Caused of low energy trauma
 2.Compound Fracture
• Compound Frac/open fracture, the bone breaks
through the skin; it may then recede back into
the wound and not be visible through the skin
• There is a high risk of injection to the
internal tissues
 3.Comminuted fracture
• A fracture that results in three or more
bone fragments.
• It is a highly unstable type of bone fracture
with many bone fragments
 4.Greenstick fracture
 The pathology of this type of fracture includes a
incomplete fracture in which only one side of the
bone has been broken
 The bone usually is "bent" and only broken of
the outside of the bend.
 It is mostly seen in children and is considered a
stable fracture due to the fact that the whole
bone has not been broken.
 As long as the bone is kept rigid healing is
usually quick.
 5.Transverse fracture
• The fracture is at right angles to the long
axis of the bone.
• In this type of fracture the bone has been
broken giving rise to a transverse break or
fissure within the bone at a right angle to
the long portion of the bone..
• It is most often caused by direct traumatic
injuries.
 6.Compression Fractures
• This type of bone fracture generally occurs
after a fall where the vertebral column is
compressed and then under the extreme
pressure cracks or breaks.
• This type of bone fracture may also be
referred to as a Impact
 7.Spiral Fracture
• In this pattern a bone has been broken
due to a twisting type motion. It is highly
unstable and may be diagnosed as a
oblique fracture unless a proper x-ray has
been taken. The spiral fracture will look
like a corkscrew type which runs parallel
with the axis of the broken bone
 8.Stressed Fractures
• A stress fracture develops from continued
physical stress on the bone rather than
from a single blow to the bone. It can be
caused by:
• Increasing the amount or intensity of an
activity too quickly (most common)
• Switching to a different playing or running
surface
• Wearing improper or old shoes
 9.Impacted Fractures
• The bone fragments are driven forcefully
together
• Symptoms of an ankle fracture include:
- a popping or snapping sound at the time of
injury
- loss of function (pain when attempting to move
the ankle)
- pain, tenderness, and swelling
- deformity (in some cases)
- discolored skin or bruising, appearing days to
hours after the injury
- an open wound (very rarely)
 Avulsion Fractures
• An avulsion fracture is an injury to the
bone in a place where a tendon or
ligament attaches to the bone.
• When an avulsion fracture occurs, the
tendon or ligament pulls off a piece of the
bone.
• Avulsion fractures are also more common
in children than adultsweak point in their
skeleton called the growth plate