Bone fracture medical therapy
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Bone fracture Microchapters |
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Diagnosis |
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Treatment |
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Bone fracture medical therapy On the Web |
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Risk calculators and risk factors for Bone fracture medical therapy |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Medical Therapy
First aid for fractures includes stabilizing the break with a splint in order to prevent movement of the injured part, which could sever blood vessels and cause further tissue damage. Waxed cardboard splints are inexpensive, lightweight, waterproof and strong. Compound fractures are treated as open wounds in addition to fractures.
Since bone healing is a natural process which will most often occur, fracture treatment aims to ensure the best possible function of the injured part after healing. Bone fractures are typically treated by restoring the fractured pieces of bone to their natural positions (if necessary), and maintaining those positions while the bone heals. To put them back into the natural positions, the doctor often "snaps" the bones back into place. This process is extremely painful without anesthesia, about as painful as breaking the bone itself. To this end, a fractured limb is usually immobilized with a plaster or fiberglass cast which holds the bones in position and immobilizes the joints above and below the fracture. Alternatively, fractured bones may be treated by the Ilizarov method which is a form of external fixator.
Occasionally smaller bones, such as toes, may be treated without the cast, by buddy wrapping them, which serves a similar function to making a cast. By allowing only limited movement, fixation helps preserve anatomical alignment while enabling callus formation, towards the target of achieving union.
In Children
In children, whose bones are still developing, there are risks of either a growth plate injury or a greenstick fracture.
- A greenstick fracture occurs because the bone is not as brittle as it would be in an adult, and thus does not completely fracture, but rather exhibits bowing without complete disruption of the bone's cortex.
- Growth plate injuries, as in Salter-Harris fractures, require careful treatment and accurate reduction to make sure that the bone continues to grow normally.