Fracture

A fracture is characterized by a crack in the bone due to a violent shock, accident or fall, which causes direct trauma. Fractures are found to come in different forms: compression fractures, fatigue fractures, open fractures, simple fractures and green wood fractures. It should be noted that fractures can also affect other parts such as ligaments, muscles, blood vessels, and even the skin.

What are the signs and symptoms of a fracture?

To recognize a fracture, the signs are very telling, as you may feel bone crunches inside the affected part. Then, the pain will intensify even when you touch the part and this is also the case with each movement. What is certain is that the diagnosis will be quick, because the fracture will cause swelling or deformity, or even bruising.

In addition, symptoms may present differently depending on the organ affected. When it comes to craniofacial or vertebral fracture, the patient may suffer from impaired consciousness, tingling and paralysis. In other circumstances, difficulty breathing with coughing up blood may occur if the affected part involves the rib cage. There are also patients who have abnormal urination when the pelvis is fractured. In the case of a pathological fracture, pain and discomfort may be felt when the person walks.

What causes a fracture?

The causes of a fracture are traumas that are distinguished as follows:

• A direct hit such as a fall or car accident;
• A moderate blow such as a repeated shock is what often happens to athletes or soldiers who make long runs. In this case, we speak of fatigue fracture.

It should be noted that intense shock can cause a significant fracture. Take the example of a fall to the ground, fractures are minor while if the person falls from a building, fractures can be multiple and important.

In addition, there are diseases that make bones even weaker such as:

• Infections;
• Tumours, especially those that affect the bones;
• Osteoporosis.

The concern with these different diseases is that the people concerned will be more likely to have a broken bone resulting from a simple shock. Moreover, these are called pathological fractures.

What are the different types of fractures?

The fractures are numerous, you have:

• Simple fractures: broken bones resulting from impact;
• Spontaneous fractures: broken bones resulting from a pathology such as osteoporosis;
• Open fractures: broken bones through the skin;
• Fatigue fractures: broken bones resulting from a small repeated shock;
• Compression fractures: crushing of a limb;
• Green wood fractures: broken bones in young children.

Note that muscles, skin and blood vessels can also be affected because of a bone fracture.

What is the diagnosis?

When a patient comes to his doctor for a diagnosis, the latter must perform thorough examinations with knowledge of the illness or accident.

Only an X-ray can confirm the diagnosis of a fracture and in other cases, magnetic resonance imaging or MRI should be performed. There are also other possible imaging methods such as:

• A scintigraphy: examination that allows a complete analysis of the organs with a particular camera;
• Computed tomography (CT): use of X-rays to determine cracked parts.

Physiotherapy treatments

When a patient suffers a fracture, Physio+ Hamel can perfectly take care of relieving the affected parts through specific methods. It does not matter if you are in a situation of immobility or if you want to follow the treatment after removing the cast. Several treatments are possible:

• Exercises to make limbs flexible;
• Reinforcement;
• Annual and educational therapy technique.