What is a fracture?
A fracture is a broken bone, which comes in a number of forms, including crosswise, lengthwise, or into several pieces. Fractures can be as minor as a thin crack, or as major as a complete break.
What causes a fracture?
Fractures happen when a force is applied to your bone that’s greater than your bone can support. There is an indeterminate number of situations that can lead to a fracture, but some common reasons are from sports injuries, car accidents, or falling down.
There are also certain risk factors that make you more likely to suffer a fracture, such as:
- Smoking
- Drinking alcohol
- Physically inactive
- Taking corticosteroids
- Intestinal or endocrine disorders
- Osteoporosis
- Being older
These conditions all decrease your bone density, making your bones more brittle and susceptible to breaking.
What are the symptoms of a fracture?
Fractures typically come with a great deal of pain during the injury that causes them, but some of the other signs that you might have fractured a bone include:
- Noticeable deformation in the area of your injury
- Trouble supporting weight with the injured bone
- Grinding or snapping sound during the injury
- Bruising, redness, or swelling in the affected area
In some extreme cases, your fractured bone might poke through your skin. If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, schedule a visit with Dr. Rask at Hillsboro Orthopedic Group. immediately.
How do you treat a fracture?
Dr. Rask first diagnoses your fracture by asking you about your symptoms, visually examining your injured area, and ordering X-rays. In addition to helping determine whether you have a fracture, X-rays also help Dr. Rask assess the type of fracture and its exact location.
Dr. Rask creates a personalized treatment plan for your fracture, taking into account its location and severity. He can typically treat minor fractures with nonsurgical treatments, like manually realigning and stabilizing your fractured bone, then fitting you with a cast to keep your bones in place while you heal.
More advanced cases might require surgery, such as open reduction and internal fixation or external fixation. Dr. Rask is also highly skilled at performing fluoroscopic fracture treatment, which is an effective and minimally invasive solution.
Schedule your fracture care with Dr. Rask by calling Hillsboro Orthopedic Group.
