10 Common Types of Bone Fractures You Must Know

Fracture is one of the most common injuries that occur due to trauma. It can occur due to both high-energy or low-energy traumas. In younger people, the fracture is commonly caused due to high-impact injuries like automobile crashes, falling from a great height, and contact sports injuries. While on the other hand, elderly people are more prone to fractures due to low-impact trauma. This is because after a certain age, the bone starts deteriorating and the occurrence of osteoporosis is common in the elderly. Thus, they are more likely to get a fracture even with a slight fall.

When it comes to bone fractures, there are multiple variables that come into play. For example, fractures in young adults and senior citizens happen and develop in different ways. In terms of the recovery periods, young adults have faster healing times. According to experts at Orion orthopaedics, it is best that you seek expert medical consultation as soon as possible in the event of a bone fracture. This will help you get treated as soon as possible and prevent pain and other sufferings.

In this post, we are going to discuss 10 common types of bone fractures that one must know.

10 Common Types of Bone Fractures

Transverse Fracture

These are the types of fractures that occur in a straight line across the bone. This could result due to traumatic injuries like falling from a height or automobile accidents.  This type of fracture can be fixed either using a non-surgical method with the application of a brace or with surgery using different types of Orthopaedic Implants. The method of treatment will solely depend upon the seriousness of the fracture.

Spiral Fracture

The name of the fracture is given according to the fracture pattern seen in such cases. In spiral fracture, the break spirals around the bone. The most common cause of this fracture is twisting injuries that could occur during sports, accidents, or fights. It is noticed that spiral fractures generally occur in long bones like the tibia, femur, or fibula. Besides this, the occurrence of spiral fractures is also seen in long bones of the arm.

Greenstick Fracture

Greenstick fracture is generally seen in children where the bone breaks & bends, but does not get separated into two pieces.

Stress Fracture

Repetitive motions are the most common cause of stress fracture. It appears as a crack and is also known as a hairline fracture. Such fractures are hard to diagnose with X-ray.

Compression Fracture

Compression fracture is the condition where bones are crushed and after that, they generally appear flattened and widened. This condition is most commonly seen in the spine.

Oblique Fracture

This is a type of long bone fracture in which the break occurs diagonally.

Impacted Fracture

This is the condition where the broken ends of the bone get impacted together due to the force that caused the injury.

Segmental Fracture

Segmental fracture is where a bone gets broken from two different places while leaving a part floating in between the breaks. This type of fracture normally occurs in long bones like the femur, tibia, or fibula. The segmental fracture could take a long time to heal or certain complications may also be associated with this complication.

Comminuted Fracture

Comminuted fractures are most commonly caused due to high-impact traumatic injuries. In these conditions, the bone breaks into 3 or more pieces. High-energy automobile collision is one of the reasons that may result in a comminuted fracture.

Avulsion Fracture

When the fracture occurs at the junction where the bone attaches to the ligament or tendon, then such condition is known as avulsion fractures. In the case of the fracture, the tendon or ligament pulls a piece of the bone away with it.

These are the 10 types of fractures that could be most commonly seen. When it comes to the management of these fractures, then they could be managed either surgically or non-surgically depending upon the severity of the condition. Surgical treatment of these fractures may require the use of orthopedic devices like Herbert Screws, Interlocking Nail Tibia, PFNA Intramedullary Interlocking Nail, etc.