A few years ago, my friend was running to submit his final project before the lecturer closes for the day, it was his last chance of meeting up and he did not want to miss it, suddenly, he fell and rolled over his shoulder, he felt a sharp pain but tried to quickly get up in order to meet his target, unfortunately, the pain he felt on his shoulder was intense, the shoulder felt heavy and he could not even get up. He screamed and called for help, some young men carried him immediately to the school clinic and that was when the doctor on duty confirmed that he had a bone fracture and they could not handle such a case in the clinic there, he was rushed to a better hospital with more facilities.
On getting there, the doctor gave him some pain killers in order to ease the pain and an x-ray was taken to identify the length of the injury. He was admitted for a few days and medications were given, we had to buy a brace described by the doctor in order to keep the hand in a fixed manner to promote healing.
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However, my friend still has regular and painful dislocation on the arm from time to time which would usually require us to rush him to the nearest hospital, I used to be so scared of having him at home alone because he could experience this dislocation even while sleeping and he would not be able to help himself. Now, he seems to be able to handle himself better whenever it happens and he can even fix the dislocated arm back by himself (with some help), so the frequent visit to the hospital has greatly reduced.
I was really disturbed about the constant removal at some point and I had to ask the doctor what the permanent remedy was, he told me that, healing like that usually takes time and we may need surgery to get it permanently fixed. That would cost a lot of money that we cannot afford at the moment so the condition is still being managed with medication in the meantime.
Let’s talk about bone fracture.
When a bone is healthy, it is expected that it is strong enough to withstand certain forces, but the bone would normally grow weak according to age, there are certain health conditions that could lead to having a weak bone, certain extreme strong forces could also lead to crack or break in a bone, overuse of some body parts could also result in cases of broken bone or fracture.
For every human joint, there are four components;
• The bone: The point for the meeting of bones.
• Tendons: These are the tissues that connect muscle and the bone.
• Ligaments: They are responsible for the connection of bone and they help with stabilizing the joints as well.
• Cartilage: They provide flexible tissue between bones, therefore, preventing them from friction.1
When there is a case of bone fracture, the doctor would ask questions about the incident that led to the fracture, and then an x-ray would be conducted in order to determine how big or small the injury is. Healing of bone fracture is usually a natural process after the doctor has reduced the fracture, but some cases would actually require surgery to get fixed. Reducing the fracture is done by either of the following methods: External fixings, Casts, and braces, Metal plates and screws, or intramedullary nails or rods placed in a bone cavity.
Depending on the bone region affected and the very rare possibility of having any complication such as infection or blood supply problem, the healing process would take a few weeks to months. The process of healing could however be affected by;
• Age factor.
• High body mass.
• Excessive alcohol intake.
• Smoking.
• Consumption of anti-inflammatory drugs. 2
Bone fractures occur in different ways because there are different categories of bone fractures.
Complete fractures: In this case, the bone is completely separated into two.
Opened fracture: In this case, the skin breaks open.
Closed fracture: In this case, the skin doesn’t break open.
Displaced fracture: This fracture does not deeply affect the bone.
Stress fracture: In this case, there is a bone crack.
I really cannot figure out which exact one happened to my friend, but I would guess that it could be a closed fracture because the skin did not break open and on the other hand, it could also be a stress fracture. The pain that comes with a fractured bone will make it possible for anyone who has the experience to instantly identify it. However, there are certain symptoms associated with fractured bones that would help with the identification of a fractured bone; severe pain, inability to use the limb, swelling, and unusual bump around the region. 3
Accompanied complications with a bone fracture.
While the treatment of bone fracture could be easy sometimes, there are certain complications that may be associated with the treatment as well.
The bone may lose an appropriate supply of blood and die in the process, the condition is scientifically known as avascular necrosis
There is a possibility of bone infection when there is a compound fracture and this would result in persistent infection.
There could be a case of bone deformity.
There may also be a major bone shift during the healing process, therefore permanently dislocating the bone. 4
The possibility of getting a fractured bone.
Anyone can get a bone fracture at any point in their lives, bone fracture usually occurs from falls, accidents, and even sports injury. However, you can follow these simple guidelines, which will help prevent the possibility of getting a fractured bone.
• Pay attention to your environment and avoid tripping, clear off items that could make you fall or have an accident around the home.
• Staying fit is also a great addition especially exercises that improve balance and muscle development.
• Eat well, eat meals that are high in calcium as they help to boost bone strength. My friend is placed on medication that contains high calcium, according to the doctor it would help build bone strength and reduce the cases of fracture from occurring. 3
For Further Studies.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/173312#complications
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15241-bone-fractures
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/173312#summary
https://www.medicinenet.com/broken_bone_types_of_bone_fractures/article.htm
Hi, I am Tobi a writer, speaker, relationship blogger, lover of good music. I love making friends and learning from people. Want to hear me speak on relationships and general life issues, you can find my podcast channel Here and listen to any episode for free, do not forget to subscribe and share with friends. I sincerely appreciate every love I get from members of the community, do well to keep them coming.