Broken Bones

A broken bone or bone fracture is simply a break in the bone. There are many different types of fracture but there is no difference between a 'broken bone' and a 'bone fracture'.

Bone Fractures usually occur as a result of a traumatic injury, such as a fall. they can also occur, however, over a period of time due to repetitive stresses (stress fracture).

Different Types of Fracture

The first classification of a fracture is whether it is open (compound) or closed. Closed fractures are more common and are where the overlying skin is not broken. Open fractures occur when one end of the broken bone pierces the skin.

Other classifications include:

Transverse - a straight line fracture
Oblique - an oblique (or diagonal) fracture
Spiral - a fracture which spirals around the bone
Comminuted - where the bone fractures in more than one part
Avulsion - a ligament or tendon pulls a piece of bone away

How the body heals a broken bone

The body heals a broken bone by forming a Hematoma which is a pocket of blood around the tissue. The blood coagulates to form a clot between the broken fragments and over a matter of days blood vessels start to grow into the clot forming a matrix. This creates a network enabling phagocytes and fibroblast to pass into the clot.

The fibroblast’s multiply and produce collagen fibres which replaces the clot. Some of the fibroblasts also produce a bone matrix in the form of crystals.

Collagen is pliable in consistency which helps the bone to heal as it allows the fragments to move a small amount. When the collagen turns to the mineral calcium hydroxapatite (the bone matrix) it stiffens and turns into bone.

broken bones