A complex fracture occurs when a bone is broken into many pieces and the surrounding tissues are severely damaged. These types of fractures are typically found in athletes and the elderly. While a complex fracture can happen to anyone and anywhere in the body, women in their sixties are five times more likely to suffer a complex fracture in their wrists than men. Both genders risk fracturing the spine, hip, leg, ankle, or pelvis in a fall.

If a child experiences a complex fracture, they will have to go through specialized care to ensure that their bone growth isn’t affected by the break. Children’s injuries can be much more serious than an adult’s because their bodies are still developing.

It’s important to learn about the recovery period after a complex fracture so you’ll know what to expect during the lengthy healing process.

Surgery

Complex fractures are different for every patient, but surgery will be required in many cases. The surgeon can correct the complex fracture in any number of different ways depending on the location of the injury.

Your physician will design a specialized treatment plan, based on the severity of the fracture and the location in the body, to help you recover as quickly as possible. Because a complex fracture involves multiple bone fragments, torn ligaments, and tendons, your surgeon will utilize screws and pins to secure everything in place.

Rehabilitation

After the injury has healed, you’ll need to go through rehabilitation to fully regain your range of motion in the injured area. Your physician will develop a personalized rehabilitation program based on the severity of the injury and where it’s located. This program will include gentle stretches, various exercises, and other physical therapy methods to help the muscles gain flexibility and build strength.

Recovery time varies from patient to patient, but if everything goes smoothly, the fracture should be completely healed in about two months.

If you believe you’ve experienced a complex fracture, it’s important to seek medical attention right away. Visit an emergency medical facility such as a hospital emergency room or Premier’s Orthopaedic Urgent Care Center. Your doctor will perform several physical examinations and may also order an MRI be conducted to better identify and treat the injury.

For more information on maintaining healthy bones, what you can do to prevent fractures, and fracture treatment methods, click here to download our eBook,Understanding Fracture Care: Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment.

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If you’re experiencing pain around the soft tissue but not over your bone, it’s likely that you have a sprain and not a break. Typically you can move the affected limb with a sprain as well. Pain over the bone usually indicates a break and you probably won’t be able to walk.

After the Injury

The first rule of thumb to treating an injury, whether it’s a sprain or a break, is to rest it. If you hurt your ankle, stay off your feet, and if you hurt your wrist, avoid using that arm. Continuing to use the injured limb can only aggravate it and add to your pain.

The RICE method is effective for relieving pain and reducing swelling. RICE stands for rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Rest the affected limb, apply ice to it for 20 minutes at a time, use compression such as an ACE bandage to stabilize it, and elevate it by propping it up at a level that’s above your heart. Do this for two days and if you’re still not feeling better, it’s imperative that you visit a doctor.

Diagnosis

When you go to the doctor, describe in detail how the injury occurred. If you can tell your doctor the specifics, such as how your limb turned or rotated, he or she will be able to effectively diagnose and treat your sprain or fracture.

After learning about your injury and your medical history, your doctor will perform a physical examination and will probably have you get X-rays to see if the bone is broken, where it’s broken, and what type of fracture it is.

Treatment

If it’s determined that you have a sprain, your doctor may give you a brace to stabilize the joint and some medicine to help ease your pain. Your doctor may also decide that physical therapy will beneficial if your sprain is severe, such as a muscle strain. This involves various exercises to improve your range of motion and increase function.

The length of recovery after your sprain will depend on the severity, but you’ll likely be able to return to normal activities after 12 weeks.

If you have a fracture, the most common form of treatment is casting. A plaster or fiberglass cast will hold the re-positioned bones in place and allow them to heal.

In some cases, a severe fracture must be treated surgically to ensure that broken bones are positioned properly. This may involve inserting screws, metal plates, or rods.

Recovering from surgical treatment can take anywhere from several weeks to several months and may also involve physical therapy to restore full range of motion.

If you’re dealing with an injury and unsure whether it’s a sprain or a fracture, the only way to be sure is to visit your doctor.

For more information about fracture care, click here to download our free eBook,Understanding Fracture Care: Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment.

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1.Get medical help.

If your fracture is causing extreme pain, you may need to call an ambulance. Otherwise, someone may be able to take you to the emergency room or schedule adoctor’s appointment. Even if you’re not sure that you’ve broken a bone, it’s best to get it checked out so you can receive the proper care.

2.Try not to move the broken bone.

One of the most important points to remember about a fracture is not to move it. Moving a fracture could make the break in the bone even more severe. Be still and stabilize the bone to protect it and make sure that it can’t be jostled. This is especially important when you’re dealing with an injury involving the head, neck, spine, or hip. Don’t move a person with this type of injury.

3.Apply ice to the injured area.

When you experience a bone fracture, you’ll notice some swelling almost immediately. Applying ice to the fracture, with a towel between the ice and the skin, can help reduce the swelling and minimize the pain as well. Try to hold the ice on the affected area for 20 minutes, then remove it for 20 minutes, and repeat this process.

4.Help the patient avoid shock.

With more severe fractures, the pain can be great and can cause the patient to go into shock. To avoid this, keep the patient flat and warm with a blanket. Don’t move the person if a head, neck, or back injury is suspected and be mindful of their injured area.

5.Take care of an open fracture.

In the case of an open fracture, the wound must be cleaned. Rinse it with water to remove dirt and bacteria and then cover it with a clean dressing. If there’s a lot of bleeding, apply gentle pressure. When you finally arrive at the doctor’s office or emergency room, you’ll discuss what happened with the physician as well as your medical history. He or she will perform a physical examination and will order X-rays to determine what has been fractured and how badly.

For more information about fracture care, click here to download our free eBook,Understanding Fracture Care: Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment.

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Examination

Pain, swelling, tenderness, and bruising are common symptoms of a fracture, and depending on the severity, a deformity even is possible. If you experience any of these symptoms after a fall or other common cause of a fracture, seek medical treatment immediately so a doctor can examine your injury. During the examination, you’ll discuss how the injury occurred and will likely undergo X-rays, which will provide clear images of the bone so the doctor can identify where it’s broken and the type of fracture.

Non-Surgical Treatment

After determining the type of fracture and its location, the doctor will choose the best treatment method. When you experience a fracture, the broken pieces of bone must be repositioned and held in place until they heal. The following methods are used to treat fractures:

• Cast immobilization: A plaster or fiberglass cast is the most common type of fracture treatment. Once the bones are repositioned, the cast is applied to keep the broken ends in place, allowing them to heal.
• Functional cast or brace: Typically used only for less severe fractures, this type of cast or brace allows the joints to move in controlled motions.
• Traction: This treatment creates a steady pulling action and is used to align a bone.

Surgical Treatments

• External fixation: This is an operation during which metal pins or screws are placed into the broken bone near the fracture site and connected to a metal bar outside the skin to hold the bone in place as it heals. This device may also be used until surgery is performed when soft tissues are badly damaged.
• Open reduction and internal fixation: This operation involves returning bone fragments to their original alignment and attaching screws or metal plates to hold them together. Rods may also be inserted through the marrow space in the bone, if necessary.

Recovering

Your fracture will probably take anywhere from several weeks to several months to heal. The recovery time will depend on the severity of the fracture. Your pain typically doesn’t last for a long time after the fracture is in a cast, but it will take a little longer until the bone can handle the stress of normal activities. If you have a fracture, make sure you get to your doctor as soon as possible to be evaluated.

For more information about fracture care, click here to download our free eBook,Understanding Fracture Care: Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment.

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Risk

Some people are more at risk to experience complex fractures than others, including athletes, aging adults and women the age 60 and over. At Premier Orthopaedics, there is a team of five doctors who specialize in complex fractures. There arephysicians who have worked with sports teams, Olympics athletes and dance companies so they’re well versed in treating athletes and they understand the importance of a speedy recovery. The team is also very experienced in working with the elderly.

Treatment

When dealing with a complex fracture, there can be damage to multiple bones, joints, ligaments and tendons. Because there are usually several different areas of damage at once, treatment and rehabilitation is intensive.

Surgery

A complex fracture involves multiple bone fragments being broken off, in addition to torn ligaments and tendons, so your surgeon will typically utilize screws and pins to keep everything in place. The surgeon will correct the complex fracture in various different ways depending on where the injury occurred on the body.

Rehabilitation

After the injury has healed, rehabilitation is necessary to regain motion in the area. Based
on the severity of the injury and where it’s located, your physician will develop a personalized rehabilitation program. This program will include gentle stretches, various exercises and other physical therapy methods to help the muscles gain flexibility and build up strength. If you believe you’ve suffered a complex fracture, go to the emergency room immediately or visit Premier’s Orthopaedic Urgent Care Center. At this center, physicians will perform physical examinations and imaging tests, such as an MRI, in order to quickly and accurately diagnose your condition. Once you’re properly diagnosed, the physician can begin to treat you properly. At Premier Orthopaedics, quality patient care comes first, that’s why physicians stay with you from diagnosis to full recovery. This will ensure that the appropriate steps are carried out along the way and you’ll be back to normal as soon as possible.

Click here for more information about Premier Orthopaedics and find out how the experienced physicians can help you get back to living your life.

For more information about fracture care, click here to download our free eBook,Understanding Fracture Care: Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment.

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There are multiple types of fractures ranging from minor to severe, including the following:

• Greenstick: A greenstick fracture occurs when there’s a crack on one side of a bone that doesn’t go all the way through it.
• Complete: This type of fracture occurs when a bone is fully broken.
• Stress: This type of fracture, which is a hairline crack, typically occurs because of overuse.
• Stable: With a stable fracture, the broken ends of the bone are lined up and barely out of place. This type of fracture doesn’t require any type of realignment.
• Open, compound: An open, compound fracture occurs when the bone breaks through the skin or the force causes an open wound when the fracture occurs.
• Transverse: A transverse fracture has a horizontal fracture line.
• Oblique: An oblique fracture has an angled pattern.
• Comminuted: When this type of fracture occurs, the bone shatters into three or more pieces.

Symptoms

While there are multiple types of fractures that vary as far as their severity, they still all cause the same symptoms. If you have a fracture, you may experience the following:

• Swelling and tenderness around the injury
• Bruising
• Deformity if a limb is out of place or protruding through the skin

Diagnosis

As soon as you notice these symptoms, be sure to seek medical assistance. If the pain is severe, you should go to the emergency room. When you visit your physician, he or she will perform a physical examination to identify the injury. You’ll also undergo X-rays to determine whether the bone is intact or broken. The X-rays can also determine what type of fracture has occurred and the exact location of the fracture.

Treatment

Once the location and the type of injury have been determined, your doctor will decide what treatment method will work best to heal your fractured bones. The treatment method will depend on the severity and type of fracture. When your bones are fractured, they need to be held together in the correct position until they heal. In some cases, it’s necessary for the doctor the readjust the bones and put them back into the correct position. The most commonly used method to treat a fracture is cast immobilization. A plaster or fiberglass cast is applied to the fracture, keeping the ends of the bones in the proper position as they heal. In the most severe cases, such as an open fracture, where the bone breaks through the skin, surgery may be necessary.

For more information about fracture care, click here to download our free eBook,Understanding Fracture Care: Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment.

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Complex fractures are complicated, painful, and can be difficult to treat. For this reason, it’s crucial that orthopaedic physicians are experienced with this particular injury and provide quality care to each patient. Premier Orthopaedics has a team of doctors who have gone through extensive training and specialize in complex fractures. These physicians are dedicated to providing each patient with high-quality care and utilizing advanced technology and thoughtful treatment methods to promote quicker healing. Learn more about the risk factors of complex fractures and find out if you’re more susceptible to suffering this type of injury.

Athletes

Athletes are prone to experiencing complex fractures because of the amount of contact that’s involved with playing sports. Whether they collide with another player, a ball or puck, or other tools used in the sport, they could suffer a great deal of trauma. When an athlete has to deal with a complex fracture, it can be devastating. Because the treatment is difficult, an athlete is unsure whether they’ll be able to heal in time for the next season or even that they’ll be able to fully recover.

Aging Adults

As adults age, they become more susceptible to experiencing complex fractures. Bones start to lose strength and are easier to break. When an aging adult deals with blunt trauma from a fall or colliding with another person or object, their bones can’t handle the impact and a complex fracture can occur.

Women

In addition to athletes and aging adults being at risk of complex fractures, women who are 60 or older are five times more likely to suffer this injury with their wrists compared with men. However, both sexes are equally at risk of fractures of the spine, hip, leg, ankle, and pelvis because of a fall. If you believe you’ve experienced a complex fracture, it’s important that you seek attention right away and visit an emergency medical facility, whether it’s an emergency room or Premier’s Orthopaedic Urgent Care Center. Your doctor will perform several physical examinations and may order an MRI in order to better identify and treat your injury. A complex fracture will require surgery and rehabilitation, but each injury is different. Based on the severity of the complex fracture and on what part of the body it occurred, your physician will design a specialized treatment plan to help you recover as quickly as possible. Click here to contact Premier Orthopaedics and learn more information about complex fractures.

For more information about fracture care, click here to download our free eBook,Understanding Fracture Care: Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment.

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Causes

From the time they start crawling, children are always on the move. Whether they’re unstable because they’ve just started walking or they’re always running around and not watching where they’re going, it’s common for children to take some spills. Sometimes these falls are more serious than other times, depending on how they fall and what type of surface they fall on. The following incidents are common causes of pediatric fractures:

• Falling on a playground, concrete, or gravel
• Colliding with an object or another person
• Trauma of a contact sport
• Motor vehicle accident

Symptoms

Your child will experience discomfort after a fracture occurs and may have heard a popping, snapping, or breaking sound. You’ll most likely see swelling or bruising around the area, and it will be difficult for the child to move it. The area could also be noticeably deformed. If you think your child has a broken bone, take them to the emergency room or the Premier Orthopaedic Urgent Care Center for immediate attention. It’s imperative that the treatment process begins right away. Help your child stay comfortable in the meantime by applying an ice pack wrapped in a cloth to the area to reduce swelling and alleviate pain.

Diagnosis

Discuss with the physician exactly how the injury occurred and let them know of any diseases or other serious injuries. The doctor will perform a physical exam on your child and provide a pain medicine to help the child feel better. Your child will then undergo imaging testing so the physician can get a look at the fracture and determine exactly where it is and how severe it is.

Treatment

Your child’s treatment will depend on the severity of the fracture. The physician may be able to manipulate the child’s bones so they’re aligned properly then apply a cast to keep the bones stabilized as they heal. The physicians at Premier Orthopaedics understand that your child is your top priority, and they’ll treat them as such. If you believe that your child has a bone fracture, trust the specialized physicians at Premier to accurately diagnose and treat them for a speedy recovery.

For more information about fracture care, click here to download our free eBook,Understanding Fracture Care: Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment.

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Causes

Bones can withstand pressure to a certain point, but sometimes the pressure is too much, leading to a fracture. They happen most often when you’re involved in a rigorous sport or activity, landing from a fall, car accidents, and other activities that cause trauma to the bone. Another cause of a bone fracture is osteoporosis. This bone disease occurs due to calcium loss, and the affected patient’s bones lose strength and density. It’s common for an individual to be unaware that they suffer from osteoporosis until they fall and a bone breaks too easily.

Symptoms

When a fracture occurs, you may hear a crunching, popping, or snapping sound as the bone breaks. You may feel pain in the general area of the fracture and experience some swelling. Bruising can also be present at the site of the fracture. Depending on where the fracture is on your body, the area could appear deformed or like something is protruding from the skin. It will probably be hard to move that area, such as an arm or a leg.

Diagnosis

If you identify with any of the previous symptoms, you should contact your doctor immediately or visit the emergency room or Premier’s Orthopaedic Urgent Care Center. If you’re in pain and can’t see a doctor immediately, there are some things you can do in the meantime to ease the pain. Be sure to gently clean the wound with soap and water if skin is broken and cover it with a bandage to keep bacteria from entering it. Applying ice to the fractured area will also relieve some pain and help the swelling go down. Once you arrive for medical care, your physician will perform a physical examination. You’ll then undergo an X-ray so the doctor can determine whether your bone is broken and exactly where the fracture occurred. After this, your physician will determine what treatment method is best for your injury. Typically, a fractured bone will be set in a cast to immobilize it and allow it to heal. Before being put in a cast, the physician will ensure that the bone is aligned correctly and stabilized properly.

Surgery may be necessary if you have a complex fracture or the bone is shattered. If you’re dealing with a bone fracture, the team of professionals at Premier Orthopaedics can help you recover quickly. Click here to contact Premier Orthopaedics.

For more information about fracture care, click here to download our free eBook,Understanding Fracture Care: Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment.

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      1. Stay hydrated.

You’ll be sweating in the scorching heat and your body will become depleted of water and nutrition. It’s easy to forget to drink a lot of water while you’re busy sightseeing, playing sports, and attending events, but it’s one way to keep your body healthy and avoid injury. As you become dehydrated, you also become sluggish. This could cause you to trip and fall and break a bone. For every 45 minutes to an hour that you’re walking or running, replenish with water and a sports drink. It’s best to water down your sports drink to help to decrease the amount of sugar you consume from it.

      2. Use the proper equipment.

Even if it’s just a pickup game of soccer in the park, you’ll still need to wear your shin guards to protect yourself from injury. The same goes with all of the other sports that require equipment: Wear your helmet to play baseball and pads to play football, for example. You’ll also need to wear cleats or turf shoes. They’ll keep your from slipping, which could result in a fracture.

      3. Be aware of your surroundings.

Whether you’re exploring someplace you’ve never been before or you’ve been there a hundred times, it’s important that you always watch where you’re going and be mindful of other people. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of the activity, but this kind of carelessness could cause you to fall, trip, or collide with someone else.

      4. Take your time.

As you’re visiting museums or checking out a game, try not to rush. After all, the summertime is for relaxing, so take your time. Rushing will only increase your chances of falling and injuring yourself. While this doesn’t necessarily apply to fast-paced sports, it’s important that you don’t push yourself too hard in the heat.

      5. Prepare your muscles.

Before engaging in any sort of physical activity, you should stretch your muscles so they’re limber and ready to go. If your muscles are tight, it can lead to a torn muscle or a bone fracture. Spend about 15 to 20 minutes doing some intense stretching, and you’ll be good to go for the next few hours. So before you head out into the great city of Philadelphia this summer, take these tips into consideration. Click here to contact Premier Orthopaedics for more information about fracture prevention or treatment.

For more information about fracture care, click here to download our free eBook, Understanding Fracture Care: Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment.

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