Fractures due to indirect trauma are more predictable than those due to direct trauma. Generally a force is transmitted to a bone in a specific fashion and at a “weak link” within the bone, causing a fracture to occur. Bending fractures are generally oblique or transverse, or they may have a butterfly fragment.
Consequently, what is a butterfly fracture?
Butterfly fragments are large, triangular fracture fragments seen commonly in comminuted long bone fractures. It is often displaced away from the axis of the long bone and may need a separate screw or plate if the fracture is treated with open reduction-internal fixation (ORIF).
how does a oblique fracture happen? A transverse fracture is when the fracture line is perpendicular to the shaft (long part) of the bone. An oblique fracture is when the break is on an angle through the bone. A pathologic fracture is caused by a disease that weakens the bone. A stress fracture is a hairline crack.
Thereof, what are the forces that lead to a fracture?
FORCES THAT CAUSE FRACTURES The most common forces involved in fractures are compression (compaction – ex. commonly seen after falls), tension (stretching – ex. medieval rack), rotation (twisting), shear (sliding), and bending (angulation) (Galloway 46). Illustrates the forces that act upon bones.
How does a fracture heal?
In order for a fracture to heal, the bones must be held in the correct position and protected. Soon after a fracture occurs, the body acts to protect the injured area, and forms a protective blood clot and callus around the fracture. New “threads” of bone cells start to grow on both sides of the fracture line.
14 Related Question Answers Found
What is a nondisplaced fracture?
A non-displaced fracture occurs when the bone cracks, but maintains its proper position and alignment. A closed fracture means that there is no puncture or open wound on the skin whereas an open fracture refers to a bone that breaks through the surface of the skin. There are a number of different types of fractures.
What is a depressed fracture?
Depressed fracture A depressed skull fracture is a type of fracture usually resulting from blunt force trauma, such as getting struck with a hammer, rock or getting kicked in the head. These types of fractures—which occur in 11% of severe head injuries—are comminuted fractures in which broken bones displace inward.
What is a ring fracture?
Ring fractures that occur at the skull base involve separation of the rim of the foramen magnum from the rest of the skull, accompanied by the fracture of one petrous temporal bone to the other across the midline and then posteriorly around the foramen magnum through the occiput.
What is a type 4 fracture?
[7, 31] Similar to a type III fracture, a type IV fracture is an intra-articular fracture; thus, it can result in chronic disability. By interfering with the growing layer of cartilage cells, these fractures can cause premature focal fusion of the involved bone.
What is a Greenstick fracture?
A greenstick fracture is a fracture in a young, soft bone in which the bone bends and breaks. Greenstick fractures occur most often during infancy and childhood when bones are soft. The name is by analogy with green (i.e., fresh) wood which similarly breaks on the outside when bent.
What is an impacted fracture?
An impacted fracture occurs when the broken ends of the bone are jammed together by the force of the injury. A comminuted fracture is one in which the broken ends of the bone are shattered into many pieces. Fractures can also be classified by their configuration…
What is an avulsion fracture?
An avulsion fracture occurs when a small chunk of bone attached to a tendon or ligament gets pulled away from the main part of the bone. The hip, elbow and ankle are the most common locations for avulsion fractures in the young athlete.
What causes a segmental fracture?
Segmental fractures of the tibial shaft are always caused by a high-energy direct trauma. They are frequently associated with important soft tissue injuries, and the vascularization of the intermediate bone fragment is severely disturbed.
Are fractures worse than breaks?
A fracture and a break are actually one and the same. “There’s no difference between these two things,” he says. “A fracture means the cracking or breaking of a hard object. One is not worse than the other when it comes to breaking bones.”
Which types of fractures are most difficult to repair?
Example: A comminuted fracture is the most difficult to repair due to the bone having fractured into numerous pieces.
Can you feel broken bones healing?
Symptoms of a fracture that is not healing normally include tenderness, swelling, and an aching pain that may be felt deep within the affected bone. Often, the bone isn’t strong enough to bear weight, and you may not be able to use the affected body part until the bone heals.
Do bones bleed when broken?
The nerve endings that surround bones contain pain fiber. These fibers may become irritated when the bone is broken or bruised. Broken bones bleed, and the blood and associated swelling (edema) causes pain.
How do you tell if a bone is fractured or bruised?
there may be swelling, bruising or tenderness around the injured area. you may feel pain when you put weight on the injury, touch it, press it, or move it. the injured part may look deformed – in severe breaks, the broken bone may be poking through the skin.
Where do open fractures occur?
An open fracture, also called a compound fracture, is a fracture in which there is an open wound or break in the skin near the site of the broken bone. Most often, this wound is caused by a fragment of bone breaking through the skin at the moment of the injury.