Broken Bone

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Bone fracture means any breakage in the continuity of the bone. Bones are the hard structures of which our skeleton is made. A fracture can be caused due to some injury, trauma or some underlying diseases. Bone itself contains no nerve endings, but the layers around it do contain nerves and damage to these nerves cause severe pain in any kind of fracture.

CAUSES

• Trauma: Any fall from height, road traffic accidents, direct blow to bones, etc.
• Nutritional Deficiencies: Lack of calcium in diet and vitamin D deficiency can cause osteoporosis, a disease in which pores are formed in bones and they are prone to fractures.
• Cancers: Carcinomas of bones also cause multiple fractures.
• Overuse: Continuous stress on bones due to repetitive motion causes fractures. It happens in athletes mostly.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

• Any deformity in the shape of joint or limb
• Severe pain
• Bruise, swelling or bleeding
• Numbness or tingling in the limb
• Limited movement of the limb or inability to move

CLASSIFICATION OF FRACTURE

Fractures are classified mainly into two categories:

•  Traumatic fracture: This fracture occurs in case of any accident, fall, severe pressure on bone, etc.
•  Pathological fracture: Due to some underlying diseases or disorders or some nutritional deficiency, of which calcium deficiency is most common, are the pathological causes.

According to clinical classification in orthopedics, fractures are described in a different way:

• Close fractures: When the overlying skin is intact and the bone is fractured inside only, it is known as closed fracture.
• Open fractures: In these fractures, skin is wounded and mostly there is profuse bleeding. Risk of infection is highly increased in them.