![]() Signs and symptoms Īlthough bone tissue contains no pain receptors, a bone fracture is painful for several reasons: A bone fracture may be the result of high force impact or stress, or a minimal trauma injury as a result of certain medical conditions that weaken the bones, such as osteoporosis, osteopenia, bone cancer, or osteogenesis imperfecta, where the fracture is then properly termed a pathologic fracture. In more severe cases, the bone may be broken into several fragments, known as a comminuted fracture. To speed up the healing process and increase the chances of getting full use of your hand back after a hand fracture, you should expect to get a hand therapy program that includes splints to hold the bone in place and exercises to do by your hand doctor.Internal and external views of an arm with a compound fracture, both before and after surgeryĪ bone fracture (abbreviated FRX or Fx, F x, or #) is a medical condition in which there is a partial or complete break in the continuity of any bone in the body. ![]() These complications can be avoided, or the chances of them showing up can be reduced, by carefully following the advice your hand surgeon gives you when the bone is healing and before you go back to work or start using your hand again actively. Smoking has been shown to slow down the time it takes a fracture to heal, and if a child has fractured a bone in his or her hand or finger, that bone's later growth may be affected. This is normal, and the bump often gets smaller as time passes.Īs a fracture heals, you may have stiffness in your hands or fingers, the bone may shift a little, the area may become infected, or the bone may heal slowly or not at all. Sometimes the bone will heal with what's called a fracture callus, which is a bony lump where the bone fused back together. It's not always possible or even necessary for the bone to end up perfectly aligned after surgery for you to have full use of your hand after surgery. Your hand doctor will only prescribe these exercises after your hand or finger fracture has become stable enough to perform them. This device acts like a traction device and stops the bone from moving until it is fully healed.Īfter the fracture has healed enough to be stable, you may be given a set of motion exercises to perform to keep the area flexible. If the bone was fractured so badly that pieces of it are missing or can't be fixed, a bone graft from somewhere else in the body may be necessary to help restore stability.Īn external fixator, a set of metal bars on the outside of the injured part that use metal pins above and below where the bone was fractured, may be used after the fracture has been set in place. Articular fractures, those that change the normal working of a joint, usually need to be restored very precisely and delicately to keep the surfaces of the joint as smooth as possible. After the fragments of the fractured bone are set back where they belong, pins, plates, or screws are used to hold them together. If a hand surgeon needs to perform surgery to put the bone in place, it is referred to as an open reduction. If this can be done without cutting the hand open, it's called a closed reduction and internal fixation. If the bone was moved when the fracture happened, it may need to be held in place with a screw, a plate, or pins. If the bone didn't move when it was fractured, or has been set by a hand doctor, either a splint or cast may be used to keep the bone in place. There are several treatment options, which depend on the type and location of the fracture. Before any treatment is decided on, your doctor will usually examine your hand and take some x-rays to see the damage.
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