Broken Bone

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When people think of bones, they often visualize them as dead, rather like the dry skeletons that sometimes hang in science classrooms. But bones are really living tissue, with a rich supply of blood vessels and nerves. As a result, a bone fracture is not only painful; it causes shock and trauma to the whole body.

If you have suffered an accident, a bad fall, or a hard blow, you may have broken a bone. Depending on the cause of the break, there may be an open wound near the fracture. You may find yourself lying very still to protect yourself against the pain of movement. An affected limb may appear crooked or bent. The area near a fracture will be painful or tender when moved or touched, and may appear swollen, red, and bruised.

Depending on which bone is broken, there is a possibility of additional damage, including internal bleeding. A broken rib may puncture a lung; a broken vertebra can damage the spinal cord; a skull fracture can cause bleeding into the brain. Broken bones should be taken seriously and treated immediately.

Fractures are caused by direct or indirect physical injury to a bone. They may also be caused by quite minor knocks if bones and joins are already weakened by age or conditions such as osteoporosis. The very common causes of broken bones are fall from a height, motor vehicle accidents, direct blow, child abuse, and repetitive forces, such as those caused by running, can cause stress fractures of the foot, ankle, tibia, or hip.

Symptoms of a fracture include:

Unless it is essential to do so, a person with a limb fracture should not be moved until some form of effective splint has been applied to prevent movement of the joints above and below the fracture. Internal bleeding is common with blood vessels and tissues being damaged. Occasionally blood loss may lead to fainting or shock.

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