Fractures and Causes A fracture is a broken bone or a break of any size on the bone (Giza 2009, Vorvick 2009, Parmet 2010). The cause is the application or exertion of physical force, which is stronger than the bone itself. Fractures are common occurrences and experience. The average person is said to experience two fractures in his lifetime. The risk depends partly on age. It is quite common in childhood although fractures during childhood are, as a rule, less serious than those in adulthood. This is because bones become more brittle with age. Fractures result from injuries, osteoporosis, tumors near the bone, and prolonged walking or running. The severity depends on the location and extent of damage to the bone and surrounding tissues. Unless treated promptly, complications may develop. Recuperation depends on the person's age and health and the type of fracture. Healing may take a few weeks if the fracture is minor and occurs in a child. On the other hand, a serious fracture in someone older may take months to resolve (Giza, Vorvick, Parmet).

Descriptions and Types

A fracture may be described as simple, comminuted, open or closed (Parmet 2010). It is simple if the damage is in one place. It is comminuted if it occurs in many locations and has at least 3 bone fragments. It is open or compound if the broken bone is exposed. If the skin is intact, the fracture is described as closed. It is undisplaced if the broken bone pieces are in alignment. It is displaced if these bone pieces are not in alignment (Parmet).

The types include greenstick, transverse, oblique, comminuted, impacted, pathologic, and stress fractures (Giza 2009, Gould 2006, Better Health 2004). A greenstick fracture is an incomplete type in which the bone is bent. It typically occurs in children. A transverse fracture is at a right angle to the axis of the bone. An oblique fracture is curved or sloping. Bone fragments are cut into several pieces in a comminuted fracture. In an impacted or buckle fracture,...

This is often the case with arm fractures of children. A disease causes pathologic fracture by weakening the bones. And stress fracture develops from overuse of the bone (Giza, Gould, Better Health, Wedro 2007).
Complications

These include shock, injuries to organs and growth problems (Better Health 2004). Shock may occur when there is large blood loss. Injured organs include the brain in cases of skull fractures and the chest in cases of rib breakage. Growth problems can involve a fractured long bone of a young child, which may not reach full development if the injury is close to a joint. Fractures fuse when healing (Better Health).

Diagnosis and Treatment

Detecting a fracture is often easy because the deformity is visible (Wedro 2007). When it is not visible, the doctor will take the patient's history in detail. He will examine the injured area of the body. He may ask the patient to take pain medication before actual diagnosis. If the doctor thinks surgery may be necessary, he administers the pain medication intravenously to keep the patient's stomach empty for the anesthesia. He will determine the necessity of subjecting the injured part to x-ray and the type of x-ray appropriate for it. Two or three x-rays may be needed in different positions or angles to get a complete picture of the injury (Wedro).

Diagnosis of bone fractures is made with x-rays, CT and MRI scans (Better Health 2004). Broken bones heal by themselves. Treatment is attuned to support this natural mechanism and assures that the two pieces are correctly aligned. Subsequent x-rays are conducted to monitor the progress of healing. To enhance the natural process, treatment may require splints, braces, plaster cast, traction or metal rods or plates into the injured part through surgery (Better Health).

Blood clots at the broken ends of the bones indicate the healing process (Better Health 2004). The body naturally fuses…