Most Frequent Broken Bones And Complications
Category: Personal Injury
Author: Georgina Tyburski
Posted: Friday - September 18, 2015
It is a summer day and the park is filled with all ages of participants to “Play Ball”. The pitch is thrown and the batter swings. All of a sudden you hear a blood curdling scream. It is the batter. He is slumped over the home plate grabbing his shoulder. His coach runs to his aide along with his parents. This is a 10 year old boy who has played ball for 6 seasons. He is a star player for the summer league home team. Now what seems to have been another successful season for this young athlete, turns into a trip to the nearest emergency room. Two hours later, the young man is told he has just broken his right shoulder, more commonly known as a clavicle fracture.
With 206 bones in the human body and a world full of collisions, falls, slips, trips and mishaps, it's no wonder some of them get broken. And some bones -- by virtue of their locations in our bodies -- break more often than others.
A fracture is a broken bone. It can range from a thin crack to a complete break. A bone can fracture crosswise, lengthwise, in several places, or into many pieces. Typically, a bone becomes fractured when it is impacted by more force or pressure than it can support.
With so many ways to break a bone, it is no wonder some bones break more often than others.
5 Common bone breaks include:
Collarbone or clavicle often occurs in sport or car accidents.
Arm-Half of all adult bone breaks consist of fractured arms. Fractured arms are the 2nd most common bone-break among children, after the collarbone.
Wrist-More common before the age of 75 because the break is usually caused during physical activity such as skiing, biking or skateboarding.
Hip-Nearly a quarter of the time people over the age of 50 experience a fractured hip. A broken hip leads to death due to complications in the year following the fracture.
Ankle-Broken ankles are often accompanied by tendon damage. They cause swelling and bruising and can force the person to be inactive for an extended period of time.
Broken bones are associated with a range of potential complications at any time or any age. Acute complications occur as a direct result of the trauma sustained and can include damage to vascular structures, nerves, or soft tissues. Delayed complications may occur after the initial treatment or in response to treatment. Therefore, reevaluation is necessary at regular intervals during the healing process.
Complications are classified into 3 broad categories depending on their time of occurrence.
Immediate complications occur at the time of the fracture. Examples of immediate complications include hypovolemic shock.
Early complications occur at the initial few days after the fracture. Examples include hypovolemic shock, fat embolism syndrome where fat globules occlude the small blood vessels, deep vein thrombosis-a blood clot in a deep vein and can shower to the lung causing a pulmonary embolus, and pulmonary syndrome and crush syndrome (renal failure following extensive crushing injury of muscles).
Late complications occur a long time after the fracture. These examples include delayed union (takes longer than usual to heal), nonunion (a fracture that is a minimum of 9 months post occurrence and is not healed) or cross union (occurs when 2 adjacent bones become linked by callus formation).
Although your doctor may say “a simple break”, there is nothing simple about fractures. Fractures are associated with a wide range of potential complications. With 206 bones in our body anyone of these bones can be a culprit for a life threatening complication. It is important for your health care provider to monitor your plan of care to include appropriate medical attention immediately following the injury and during your recovery phase. Early recognition of broken bone complications and preventing complications can occur with thorough follow up medical care. It is imperative for patient’s to ask questions and following the plan of care after any injury. There is NO simple break when it is one of your bones.
Is your client one of those unfortunate family members that was told “it is a simple break?” Many patient’s experience complications from broken bones and are told by their health care provided “not to worry, it will be fine it just takes time.” The patient experiences increased pain, swelling, fever at the injury site and it progresses to a pulmonary syndrome, shortness of breath, and impending death. If this is your client?
References:
UpToDate
General principles of fracture management: Early and late complications
Author: Allyson S. Howe, MD
