Broken Bones

Broken vs. Fractured

Some people think there is a difference between a “broken” bone and a “fractured” bone. (Like a fracture is somehow worse than a break.)

Actually, “fractured” is just a more medically correct way of saying “broken”.

There are different types of bone fractures.

Ninety percent of all bone fractures are caused by trauma, like a fall or a vehicle accident.

The bones that are mostly commonly broken are the long bones (tibia, femur, humerus, radius, ulna, etc.)

Simple FractureA simple fracture is a cleanly broken bone. It is caused by pressure that is just enough to break the bone.

A simple fracture has two bone fragments: a proximal piece and a distal piece.

This is a transverse break (meaning it is at a right angle to the bone), but there are other kinds.

Simple fractures are named for the shape of the break.

Comminuted FractureIf the impact on the bone is very strong (as seen in traffic accidents or a fall from a height, as examples), it shatters the bone into many pieces and and causes a comminuted fracture.

Compound FractureCompound fracture is when the skin and soft tissues around the fracture are disrupted and the broken bones are exposed, or when a bone fragment pierces through these tissues and are seen outside the skin. There will be bleeding where the skin is broken.

Sometimes the bone will slip back inside and all you will see at the site of the fracture is a skin wound.

If the skin is not broken, it is called a “closed” fracture (meaning the skin is not broken and no bone is poking out).

Greenstick FractureA Greenstick fracture is an incomplete fracture in which the bone is bent, but not enough to break.

This type of injury occurs most often in children, whose bones are more flexible than those of adults.

Impacted FractureA Impacted fracture happens when the impact on the bone is from one of the ends and the force runs straight up the bone.

The bone breaks and the two ends of the fracture are pushed into each other.

This is a common arm fracture in children.

Stress FractureA stress fracture is most commonly seen in athletes.

This happens when there is repeated stress on the bone, from long-distance running, for example.

Pathological FractureA pathological fracture happens when bone is diseased or weakened.

The diseased bone breaks with very light force that wouldn’t normally break a bone.

Osteoporosis is a bone disease that happens when there is not enough calcium in bones and they become fragile.

The End.