Lybrate Logo
Get the App
For Doctors
Login/Sign-up
Last Updated: Oct 23, 2019
BookMark
Report

Bone Fractures: Causes and Symptoms

Profile Image
Dr. Himanshu GuptaOrthopedic Doctor • 22 Years Exp.Fellow Adult Knee Reconstruction and Sports Injuries, Fellowship in Interventional Pain Practice, MS - Orthopaedics, MBBS
Topic Image

'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.

'Consult'.

Related Tip: How Stress Can Dissolve Your Bones + Tips to Fix It Fast

chat_icon

Ask a free question

Get FREE multiple opinions from Doctors

posted anonymously
doctor

Book appointment with top doctors for Bone Fracture treatment

View fees, clinc timings and reviews
doctor

Treatment Enquiry

Get treatment cost, find best hospital/clinics and know other details