What is worse a fracture or a break?

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asked Dec 12, 2021 in Other- Health by Olayolayolay (940 points)
What is worse a fracture or a break?

2 Answers

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answered Dec 12, 2021 by Marlene99 (7,810 points)
A fracture and a break of the bone are the same thing although you may only have a hairline fracture which is less severe than a full on break of the bone.

The best fruit for bones and to help keep and build strong bones and help bones heal include.

Blackberries.
Blueberries.
Figs, dried, uncooked.
Grapes.
Kiwi fruit, fresh, raw.
Mulberries.
Plums, dried (prunes)
Pomegranate juice.

The best foods to eat to heal bones include protein-rich foods like lean meats, low-fat dairy products, beans, nuts, and fortified cereals.

Leafy green vegetables like collard greens, spinach, broccoli, and kale are high in calcium, another important part of bone repair.

Vitamins C and Vitamin D help you heal broken bones.

Collagen is a protein that's an important building block for bone.

Vitamin C helps your body make collagen, which helps your bone fracture heal.

Several large research studies have shown that taking vitamin D decreases the risk of fractures.

This includes foot and ankle fractures as well as other fractures, such as hip and wrist fractures.

Improved fracture healing has also been found in people taking vitamin D.

The 4 stages of bone healing are.

1: The formation of hematoma at the break.

2: The formation of a fibrocartilaginous callus.

3: The formation of a bony callus.

4: The remodeling and addition of compact bone.

Things that can slow down bone healing include consumption of caffeine, alcohol, smoking, putting weight on the bone too soon, movement of the bone too soon and also taking anti inflammatory medicines.

If you leave a fracture untreated the fracture may take longer to heal or may not heal at all depending on the fracture.

If it's a minor fracture then it may not even need treatment to heal as most minor fractures heal on their own.

However more severe or major fractures such as a broken hip, broken arm, broken leg etc would need treatment and a cast to heal properly.

When a bone fracture is untreated, it can result in either a nonunion or a delayed union.

In the former case, the bone doesn't heal at all, which means that it will remain broken.

As a result, swelling, tenderness, and pain will continue to worsen over time.

Most minor fractures will heal on their own, but only if you refrain from activities that put weight or stress on the affected area.

During your recovery time, it's important to modify your activity. Once the pain is gone and you're ready to get back in action, do it slowly to avoid re-injury.

Healed fractures can show up on Xrays and even old fractures can show up on xrays.

The break of a freshly broken bone will show up as a black “crack” on the x-ray showing where the bone was broken.

When the fracture has healed, the healed bone has greater density than the unbroken bone and will show up in the same place, but white.

In any case, the healed bone will show up on x-rays for the rest of your life.

They have found healed bones in Egyptian mummies when they were x-rayed, so the broken bones will still show up two thousand years after your death.

Also the colors may be reversed depending on the use (or not) of digital processing.

Most of the time the bone remodels so that in 10 years it’s not possible to see where a fracture occurred.

In situations where the bony anatomy is not restored close to normal alignment this can lead to a mal union and can be detected years later.

Sometimes the healing process may leave a callus which is extra bone growth around a complex fracture which will show up in an XRAY long after the injury.
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answered Dec 6, 2023 by Cherryredhot (6,450 points)
The difference between a break and a fracture is just the name and also fracture is most commonly referred to small breaks in the bone while a break is when a bone is broken more severely or in half.

A complex fracture is bone that is broken into more than 2 pieces and a simple fracture is a bone that is broken in 2 pieces.

The type of fracture that needs surgery is a compound fracture in which the broken bone protrudes through the skin.

The 10 types of fractures are compound fractures, complex fractures, segmental fractures, impacted fractures, oblique fractures, compression fractures, stress fractures, greenstick fractures, spiral fractures and transverse fractures.

After a fracture surgery can be done the same day or within 1 to 2 weeks of the fracture.

Surgery after several days after the fracture might not be conductive due to fracture healing.

The type of fracture that is the most common is a distal radius and proximal femur fracture.

Nonunion neck of femur. Its one of the commonest complications following fixation of fracture neck of femur.

It's reported incidence in displaced femoral neck fractures ranges from 10 to 30%.

Treatment in geriatric patients is usually prosthetic replacement.

A complex fracture is a break which is severe and includes an injury to your tendons, soft tissues, ligaments and joints.

A closed fracture does not need surgery unless the bones are not sufficiently aligned or if the fracture cannot be supported.

Most closed fractures can be treated without surgery with casts and realigned simply by a doctor.

A compound fracture does require surgery to realign the bones or bone and then a cast is used to keep the bone immobilized to promote healing.

A compound fracture is worse than a break as a compound fracture is when the broken bone protrudes out of the skin and a break is just a broken bone that does not protrude out of the skin.

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.

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