A compound fracture is pretty serious as the bone will poke through the skin and will usually require surgery to fix the bone and repair the broken skin that the bone is poking through.
The difference between a fracture and a compound fracture is with a regular fracture the bone is broken but the skin is intact and with a compound fracture the bone is broken but also pokes through your skin and can be seen or a deep wound will expose the bone through the skin.
A compound fracture is called an open fracture and a regular fracture is a closed fracture.
The fracture that requires the most force is a comminuted fracture as it requires a lot of force to break the bone into several pieces and is one of the most painful and difficult fractures to repair.
When you have a comminuted fracture you most often have very intense pain because the fracture or bone is in several pieces and surgery is most often required to fix the comminuted fracture.
The type of fractures that are the most difficult to repair are comminuted fractures.
A comminuted fracture is the most difficult to repair due to the bone having fractured into numerous pieces.
Multiple bone pieces require more effort to hold them together in the ideal position for healing.
The 4 types of fractures are complete fracture, incomplete fracture, compound or open fracture and a simple or closed fracture.
A fracture of the bone or bones is a simple or closed when the broken bone remains within the body and does not push into or out of your skin.
If the bone breaks in such a way that bone fragments stick out through the skin, or a wound penetrates down to the broken bone, the fracture is called an open fracture.
This type of fracture is particularly serious because once the skin is broken, infection in both the wound and the bone can occur.
A comminuted fracture is the most difficult to repair due to the bone having fractured into numerous pieces.
Multiple bone pieces require more effort to hold them together in the ideal position for healing.
Most fractures heal in 6-8 weeks, but this varies tremendously from bone to bone and in each person based on many of the factors discussed above.
Hand and wrist fractures often heal in 4-6 weeks whereas a tibia fracture may take 20 weeks or more.
If a fracture is left untreated it can take longer for the fracture to heal or the fracture may not heal properly and may also become infected.
Not all fractures require medical treatment but it's a good idea to go to the hospital or urgent care or a walk in clinic when you do have a fracture to ensure it's not worse off then it seems.
Untreated fractures can sometimes get worse and lead to visible deformities, misalignment, limited movement, and infection.
The difference between a sprain and a fracture is that a fracture is a broken bone.
A fracture could be a partially broken bone or a completely broken bone.
A sprain is where you just have a ligament or tendon that has been stretched out, or maybe even torn.
The ligament or tendon with a sprain does not require a cast while a fracture such as a broken bone may require a cast to keep the bone in place and promote healing.
With a sprain you should be able to move your bones such as your foot, ankle, toes, fingers etc but with a fracture you may not be able to move those bones.
Your muscles control the bones and if you feel your bone and it feels like it's broken then it usually is.
Sprains don't usually require any medical attention and usually heal on their own but some fractures may require medical attention and a cast.