The human body allows for movement through the complex system of bones, muscles and joints. A break in the bone is medically known as a fracture and can be caused by constant stress, pressure or impact. It is common knowledge that with age, the bone strength decreases and incidence of fractures (osteoporotic fracture) increases. Based on the affected bone and impact, different types of fractures are commonly identified as:

Complete: When the breakage of the bone is complete, producing two or more pieces, it is referred to as a complete fracture.
Incomplete: When the breakage is incomplete, where the bone has cracked, but does not break into pieces, it is known as an incomplete fracture.
Another type would be the open or closed fracture:
Open fracture: When the skin is exposed and the bone breaks through this exposed skin, it is known as compound or open fracture.
Simple or closed fracture: The bone breaks, but the skin continuity is maintained. Again, here are different types including hairline, greenstick, oblique, etc.
What is the reason behind a fracture?
A bone will fracture when force is applied to it that is stronger than the bone itself. A key factor in a bone s susceptibility to fracturing is age. Both children and older people are prone to bone fractures. Children s bones are constantly growing and have not reached their full strength. Elderly people have brittle bones with old age and are prone to develop bone diseases, making them susceptible to fractures.

How they are treated?
Splint and pain medications are commonly used. Closed reduction where the fracture is reduced without opening up the tissues and open reduction, where the tissues are opened up are common approaches to managing fractures.

Can they be prevented?
Especially with children and in the elderly, extra precaution should be taken to avoid any kind of injury and fracture.

Develop an exercise routine to strengthen the muscles
Manage weight
Use the right footwear and exercise gear
Watch your medications (avoid sleep inducing ones)
Increase lighting in the room/home to improve clarity of vision for elderly
Make the home/living area fall-proof by reducing clutter, using railing in the bathroom and bedroom, using rubber mat, etc.
While a fall may seem inevitable, taking the above steps can help reduce the incidence and severity of a fall, thereby minimizing damage.

Bone Fracture - Common Types and How They Can be Prevented?

Bone Fractures: Causes and Symptoms

'Fracture' is a medical term for a broken bone. According to an estimate, an average person has two fractures within their lifetime. When a force exerted is stronger than the bone itself, it can lead to a fracture. The risk and chance of fracture depend on your age. With age, bones tend to become brittle and, hence, a fall that would have been potentially harmless years ago can lead to a broken bone at a later age.

There are many types of bone fractures, but the main types are:

Closed fracture: A fracture in which the bone breaks but does not tear through the skin

Open fracture: Where the broken bone punctures through the skin and protrudes out. There's a greater chance of bone infection in an open fracture

Displaced fracture: In this type of fracture the bone snaps into more than two parts

Nondisplaced fracture: The bone cracks partly or wholly but it does continue to move

Some of the common signs and symptoms of a fracture are:

- Bruising and swelling of the bones
- Open fractures marked by protruding bones from the skin
- Loss of locomotive and functional ability of the injured area
- Deformity of the injured area
- Pain in the event of movement of the injured area

A fracture can be caused by a number of reasons, and they are:

- Injuries and accidents
- Falls and slips
- Wear and tear through overuse
- Sport injuries
- Fist fights and brawls
- Osteoporosis (a disease which causes bones to weaken in adults)
- Osteomalacia ( a disease caused due to softening of your bones, which is caused by a vitamin D deficiency.) Soft bones are more likely to bow and fracture than are harder, healthy bones.

Note:

Osteomalacia is not the same as osteoporosis. Osteomalacia occurs due to a defect in the bone-building process while osteoporosis develops due to a weakening of existing bones.



Bone Fractures: Causes and Symptoms


A fracture separates a single solid object into two or more pieces due to pressure. In medical terms, a fracture refers to a broken bone due to some kind of external trauma. A crack in the bone, on the other hand, it does not cause a clean break in the bone, there is only a separation or discontinuity in the bone material.

A crack in the bone caused due to repeated stress is often called as 'hairline fracture'. Here are the basic differences between a crack and a fracture in the bone and how to treat them:

1. A crack or hairline fracture is rarely caused by a single injury. It is usually the result of bone fatigue, which may be caused due to repeated, concentrated stress over a long period of time and thus, it is also called as 'stress fracture'. Other bone fractures are almost always the result of sudden and severe force on the bones.

2. The skeletal system constantly remodels itself. The cells, known as 'osteoblasts' absorb calcium and secrete bone connective tissue. If a particular site is exposed to recurrent bouts of force (which are individually not impactful enough to cause a crack), over time the osteoblasts in that region malfunction and the crack appears.

Muscular exhaustion can also cause cracks in the bone. Fractures are caused due to sudden external single force trauma to the bone. Nutritional problems like deficiencies of Calcium, Phosphorus, vitamin D and excessive smoking decrease the bone mineral density and increase the chance of both cracks and fractures.

3. Symptoms of a crack are swelling, tenderness and sharp pain in the injured region and the symptoms worsen over time. A fracture has similar symptoms and might also exhibit an external physical distortion and makes it impossible to move that part of the body that where the bone is broken.

4. An MRI is often suggested for detecting the crack or crack-prone areas because an X-ray can only detect the crack after it widens somewhat or the bone starts paining because the rays cannot pass through the tiny gap in bone material. A fracture is easily detectable by an X-ray because the rays pass right through the break.

5. Complete rest for six to eight weeks is the most effective way of healing a crack. Using a walking boot in case of cracks in the leg bones in also helpful. Healing fractures require extensive medical intervention. Surgical techniques like bone grafting and the insertion of metal plates are used to reposition the broken bone.

Cracks VS Fractures

Breaking a bone is, needless to say, a painful experience. But, when people have their broken bone put in a cast, they tend to forget about it until it comes out. This is quite wrong! A person would want to be up and running but does not find that the hand or the leg as it has been cast up. For weeks, the person's hand or leg barely moves and also shrinks up quite a lot!

There is a lot of pain, not only due to shrinkage when a fracture occurs. The occurrence itself causes what is known as acute pain. Then, for some weeks, the sub-acute pain just seems to persist, to the person having the fracture. The reason for this is the fact that the bone and the soft tissue are in the process of healing.

Chronic pain is a worry as it does not go away even after the healing process has ended. In order to make sure that there is a quick recovery and there is no chronic pain which is experienced at all, some of the proverbial leaves need to be taken out of the book of physiotherapy.

To start with, sometime between a fortnight and a month after the injury or the bone break has taken place, the doctor will wish to see some movement in the soft tissue that has broken around the bone. The great advantage of this is that while it may be a little bit of effort and time involved, there are great benefits by the way of less pain and swelling as the blood flows as normally as is possible.

If such movements are not done, a person can have related soreness, which can be even more of a pain! An example of this would be a broken foot or ankle causing the stiffness of the knee. When a person is already in pain, adding to his or her trouble makes no sense at all, does it?

Post one month mark, the physiotherapist would want to see more functioning so that the normal levels can be attained. A person who has a fracture should not despair as if he or she is willing to stick to the schedule given by the physiotherapist and perform all the exercises that have been set out, he or she will be back at the normal level much sooner than would have been expected!

Also, getting active again will reduce the risk of a repeat injury, and that is enough justification to do so!

What To Expect When Recovering From Broken Bones?

Sports injuries are a common problem, where various types of musculoskeletal injuries can occur during the physical activities. These injuries can either be acute or chronic in nature. In athletes, such injuries can pose as a risk to their careers, which makes it essential for the physicians to provide the most appropriate treatment. It is mandatory to provide a prompt, safe and quick treatment that can restore the athlete s preinjury level of participation in sports.

Various treatment approaches are present for treating sports injuries. The use of intra-lesion blood injection is being made for addressing the musculoskeletal injuries. An easy and minimally invasive method of using concentrated autologous growth factors in treating sports injuries is the use of platelet rich plasma (PRP). It is a fraction of the blood plasma that contains a higher concentration of platelets than normal plasma, along with growth factors.

PRP is used in the treatment of both soft tissue and bone injuries. Growth factors have a positively influencing effect on the healing process of connective tissue components.
There is a huge difference between the anatomy and functions of tendons, ligaments, muscles and joint capsules. Hence, the site of injection of PRP also varies.
The cellular tension in the tissue and the collagen structure is affected after the administration of PRP.
Use of PRP is popular in the treatment of an Achilles tendon. For injecting PRP, an ultrasound scan is done, the site of injection is accurately identified and then PRP is administered.
Proper location of the site of injury and deciding the accurate injection zone prior to the injection of PRP makes it easier to facilitate treatment and eliminate discomfort.
Administration of PRP should be considered secondary to physical therapy and other conservative means of treatment.
Enthesopathy is a discomfort in the area where the attachment of tendons, ligaments and the articular capsule is present. The use of PRP is increasing in the treatment of this condition. It has an inflammatory nature and presents as epicondylitis or capsulitis.
Studies have proved that PRP is an effective alternative to injection of steroids for an anti-inflammatory effect. Steroids majorly provide only symptomatic relief, whereas PRP is more definitive.
PRP has also found an increased use in the area of surgical procedures of knees. It is used to increase the efficiency of the healing grafts placed in the knee during reconstructive surgeries.
For treatment of bone injuries, use of PRP has shown an improved quality and rate of bone healing. Even in cases of an infected injury, PRP aids in healing efficiently.
No known side effects or complications after use of PRP have been observed, which makes it a sought after option in management of sports injuries.


Platelet Rich Plasma In Sports Injuries

Breaking a bone can be counted among one of the most painful experiences that one can possibly suffer from. Inflicted usually by external injuries, fractured bones generally require surgeries for recuperation. In the occasion of minor fractures however, plasters often facilitate recovery. Although these are the primary treatments that are meted out, recovering from fractured bones entail much more. For some, the time to restore normalcy takes longer than others. In such cases, one tends to opt for palliatives to ease out the pain.

Homeopathic medicines not only offer respite to the pain but also provide a holistic cure for the emotional anxiety one goes through in such times. Many therefore seek out homeopathic remedies for treating bone fractures. Some of the most effective antidotes in this regard have been enlisted below.

1. Arnica: Arnica is extremely helpful at curbing swelling and as a consequence, reducing pain. Prolonged use of Arnica can potentially minimize the swelling to absolute normalcy.
2. Hypericum: This soothes the fracture induced pains, especially when the fractures affect the nerves. This is a beneficial remedy for fractures in fingers, toes and the spinal regions.
3. Bryonia: Bryonia is known to bring relief in cases of the jarring pain that surfaces post trauma. Sometimes, even the slightest movement in the affected area can lead to a lot of distress. This is an ideal cure for such cases.
4. Calcarea Phosphorica: This speeds up the healing process following a bone fracture. Consumption of Calcarea Phosphorica accords a calming effect on the moods of the patient and helps to deal better with the pain, anxiety and irritability in the due course.
5. Eupatorium Perfoliatum: This helps in mitigating deep wounds and the consequent aches. The healing powers of Eupatorium Perfoliatum are extremely pervasive and results in quicker recovery.
6. Ruta Graveolens: This re-nourishes the damaged body fibers and soothes the bruised areas. It is also known to reduce restlessness.
7. Symphytum: It is extremely helpful in the rejoining of bones. It enables the body to heal faster and effectively cures joint pains.

5 Best Homeopathic Medicine for Bone Fracture Treatment

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