Fractured Bone Treatment Clinic in Tustin, CA

A broken or fractured bone generally takes 6 to 8 weeks to heal significantly. Children’s bones tend to heal faster than adult bones. Your doctor will determine when the bone is healed enough to bear weight. When a bone breaks, pain is the body’s natural reaction. Both the injuries to the soft tissue and fracture can produce pain. Soft tissue refers to the ligaments, nerves, muscles, tendons, and blood vessels that surround the bone.

When the soft tissue around the fracture is injured the result can be swelling, bruising, pain, and redness.

• Acute pain occurs when the bone has broken.
• Sub-acute pain usually occurs when the bone and soft tissue begin to heal.
• Chronic pain is ongoing pain that appears long after the fracture and soft tissue have healed.

Immediately after a bone breaks you might experience acute pain, followed by sub-acute pain while your bone heals, but you may not have chronic pain at all. Other individuals may only experience acute pain. It is also possible to have a fracture without any pain as many people have had a spinal fracture and were not aware they had one.

It may come as a surprise, but a broken bone and a fractured bone are the same thing. A fracture occurs when an outside force is too great for a bone to handle. Although generally rigid, bones can weaken over time and become more susceptible to fracturing.

Fractures may occur lengthwise, crosswise, or in multiple pieces. Similarly, the underlying causes of bone breaks varies.

Types of Bone Fractures:

• Compound (open) fracture. The bone may pierce the skin at the time of the fracture.
• Transverse fracture. When the bone breaks in a horizontal line.
• Oblique fracture. When the bone has a diagonal or angled break.
• Comminuted fracture. This means the bone has been shattered into 3 or more pieces.
• Greenstick fracture. When the bone bends and cracks but does not fully break. This is commonly seen in children because their bones are softer and more flexible than adults.

A fracture may be further classified by whether or not the broken pieces of bone are aligned:

• Non-displaced fracture. When the parts of the bone that are broken remain aligned.
• Displaced fracture. When the parts of the bone that are broken are displaced.

This can cause a fracture to be labeled unstable or stable. These clinical terms refer to whether the bone pieces can be easily disturbed and moved out of place. When a fracture is labeled unstable, it means that the two pieces of bone that are broken will not be able to withstand normal weight-bearing or natural physiologic forces.

The most common reason for anyone to need a foot or ankle cast is if they fracture a bone or break a bone. Stress fractures are caused by the impact from repetitive activities like running, jumping and walking. Ankle fractures need a cast. If the fracture is severe it may require surgery.

To heal a broken bone, it must be immobilized so that the broken ends can knit back together. In most cases, this requires a cast. Minor foot fractures typically only need a boot, removable brace, or shoe with a stiff sole.

If you or someone you know has fractured a bone, or you think a fracture may have happened, call our office to get in touch with a specialist. To book an appointment, call us or visit us online at www.tustinpodiatryclinic.com. Our office is located at 17400 Irvine Blvd. Suite H Tustin, CA.