Pubic bone branchial fracture

What is a pubic bone branchial fracture?

A pubic branch fracture is a fracture of a pubic branch. The branches of the pubic bone are large bone processes on the pubic bone (Os pubis). There are two branches, the upper pubic branch (ramus superior ossis pubis) and the lower pubic branch (ramus inferior ossis pubis).

If one of the two branches is broken, one speaks of an incomplete pubic branch fracture or pelvic ring fracture. If both branches are broken, it is a complete pubic branch fracture or pelvic ring fracture. The pubic bone branch fracture rarely occurs among pelvic fractures.

Causes of a pubic bone branchial fracture

Pubic bone fractures are subordinate to accident injuries. As with other bone fractures, these are usually caused by violent impacts or overloading. Most pubic ramus fractures occur during sports activities, especially those that require a lot of hip activity, such as skiing.

In addition, sports where you have to sit are associated with an increased risk of pubic ramus fractures. Traffic accidents are the next most common cause. Especially motorcyclists and cyclists have an increased risk for this injury. It rarely happens that heavy sexual intercourse is a cause.

Associated symptoms

The most obvious symptom of a fracture is pulling pain in the pelvic area. These can be quite strong and are usually persistent. The pelvis is connected to both legs and the spine by numerous muscles.

This can be very problematic for the patient. During almost every movement, especially when walking, lying down or standing up and when turning the legs or the upper body, these muscles are activated, which causes the muscles to exert traction on the pelvis and move the broken bones, which is of course very painful and patients complain of restricted mobility. Even just lying in bed can be painful.

Unfortunately, all this means that the pain is constant. If the pain is hardly pronounced, a fracture is rather unlikely. The pain can also radiate to nearby areas of the body, such as the buttocks or lower back.

Obvious symptoms can be bruising and swelling. Since many nerves run through the hip area, it is quite possible that nerves are trapped. In addition, there may be pelvic organ injuries, such as the bladder, ureter, intestine and, depending on the sex, the internal genitals.

If the bladder has been damaged during the rupture, there may be a frequent need to urinate. The urine can also become bloody as a result. In men it is not uncommon for the pain to radiate into the testicles and therefore the patient may erroneously conclude that there is a dysfunction in the testicles.