Fractures, especially of the larger bones, can be excruciatingly painful and put you out of action for weeks and sometimes months. It’s vital to get your broken bones set correctly, and the experts at The Woodlands Sports Medicine Centre in The Woodlands, Texas, are highly skilled and experienced in repairing fractures of all types. Find out more or schedule a consultation by calling The Woodlands Sports Medicine Centre today or book an appointment online.
Fractures are partial or complete breaks in one or more of your bones. Fractures can happen if you experience a high impact collision, or the bone comes under excessive stress because of a fall, sports injury, or car accident.
Conditions like osteoporosis that weaken bone density significantly increase the risk of fractures, especially compression fractures in the spine.
Fractures are usually painful, and can often be excruciating. There’s also a risk of complications like infection or improper healing if you fracture a bone, so you should always get urgent medical help.
You can get expert urgent care from The Woodlands Sports Medicine Centre 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
There are numerous different types of fractures, including:
Most fractures are simple and only need splinting or casting or require your provider at The Woodlands Sports Medicine Centre to realign the ends of the bones accurately without the need for surgery.
It’s important to have an orthopedic surgeon treat your fracture using diagnostic imaging to ensure the bones are correctly aligned, and that there are no loose fragments or other tissue damage to worry about.
You wear your splint or cast for long enough to give the bones time to heal, then the cast comes off, and you follow a program of physical therapy to rebuild strength in the affected area.
Other types of fractures might require specialist surgery; for example, a compound fracture needs extensive tissue repair as well as bone realignment. These types of fractures and comminuted fractures, where the bone breaks into multiple pieces, might require pins, screws, or plates to fix.
You might need a bone graft if your bone is very badly damaged. Compression fractures in your spine can benefit from vertebroplasty or kyphoplasty to raise the vertebra to a more normal height.
To find out more about fracture care, call The Woodlands Sports Medicine Centre today or book an appointment online.