Introduction
Humans have over 200 bones, which are very stable in themselves. Therefore, bone fractures only occur under very heavy loads. However, the older the person is, the more unstable the bones become and therefore fractures are more frequent, especially among the older generation.
The bone consists of collagen fibers, calcium and many different substances. The main parts of the bone consist of elastic, mineral and connective tissue. The bone is not, as one might think, completely stiff, but is elastic and slightly stretchable.
If the bones were only stiff, they would be much harder to bear the everyday loads and would break more often. The older you get, the less the elastic and connective tissue portion becomes. As a result, the bones become unstable and break more easily.
In childhood, however, these proportions are still so high that when a bone breaks, “greenwood fractures” (see Childhood bone fractures) often occur. This means that the bones splinter much more than they break. Illnesses can also lead to altered substance proportions and make the bone break more easily.
In menopausal women, the altered hormone balance often leads to osteoporosis. The density of the bones decreases and so the bones become weaker and can break more easily. If a bone breaks, the body can often repair it on its own.
There are various cells in the bone for this purpose. These cells are called osteoblasts, which produce bone material and can thus make the bone grow together again. If the bone fracture is complicated or if it is an open fracture, an operation is often necessary, because otherwise the bone cannot grow together properly and this can lead to malposition of the bone.
Some bones break more often than others. This is because some bones have so-called predetermined breaking points. The bones break more easily at these points than at others.
One of the most common causes is the direct or indirect use of force. The direct or indirect impact of violence includes, for example, car accidents or falls. Bones can break even without violence.
Diseases such as: can lead to “spontaneous” fractures.
- Osteoporosis,
- Osteomalacia (see Rickets) and
- Tumor diseases/metastases
There are safe and unsafe signs of bone fracture. Among the uncertain ones are: Among the safe fracture signs (fracture signs) is
- Redness
- Swelling
- Pain
- Limited mobility and
- Warmth.
- Visible bone
- Misalignment of the bone, this can result in the “step sign
- Abnormal mobility and
- Crepitation (the crepitation describes a bone rubbing that occurs when a broken bone is moved)
Bone fractures are usually determined by the doctor with the help of X-rays.
Two images are always taken from two different planes. This is because not all fractures are visible in one plane. In addition, not all bone fractures are visible in the X-ray image. For example, if it is a small fracture in the foot, this can often only be seen in the computer tomograph. If it is a fracture in which muscles and nerves are also injured, an MRI must often be performed, since soft-tissue injuries are not visible on X-rays and are not clearly visible on CT.
