Conditions Treated
A fracture of a bone is the same as a break. Any bone can break if it is injured with enough force following an injury or accident. Fractures can be simple and break into two, or comminuted where they break into more than one piece. They can be as subtle as a hairline crack, or the broken pieces can move out of the correct alignment. All broken bones will have an associated soft tissue injury. This will vary in severity from a bruise and swelling to damage to tendons, nerves, and blood vessels.
What do you need help with?
How serious is a fracture?
This depends on which bone is broken, how much the bones have moved and how severe the soft tissue injury around the bone is. Examination, Xrays and scans will help determine this.
How can I tell if I have broken a bone?
Most people experience pain, swelling, bruising and loss of movement when they break a bone. Sometimes there is numbness or tingling. If the leg is affected people will often be unable to put weight onto it. However, with certain breaks or soft tissue injuries it can still be possible to walk so it is important to get checked after an injury if something is causing pain or loss of function.
Will a fracture heal by itself?
Broken bones have the amazing ability to heal themselves with new bone which will eventually be as strong as the original. It is the job of your orthopaedic surgeon to determine how to support the bone in the best position to allow it to heal and give the best outcome longer term. This could be by resting the affected limb in a splint or plaster cast or with surgery.
The majority of fractures do not need surgery. Xrays, CT or MRI scans can be used to help guide this decision. Surgery will be offered if the broken bone cannot be supported with a splint or plaster in an optimal position for healing, or if an operation would improve the alignment of the bone to allow a better longer term outcome.
How long should I wait before having my fracture surgery?
There is a window of opportunity to fix fractures so timely advice is recommended following an injury. This is different for each type of fracture and can vary from 24 hours to several weeks. There are national guidelines for some fractures which help to define this. In some situations, there is a need to wait for swelling to settle before surgery. It is important to operate in a well-timed manner to allow for early rehabilitation and return to function.
Currently, increased pressures on the NHS to manage both elective surgery, and surgery for injured patients, can conflict. This puts pressure onto limited resources and can increase waiting times for fracture surgery.
How long will a fracture be painful for?
Most bones take between 6-8 weeks to heal and people can experience discomfort or tenderness in the limb for that time. The first couple of weeks are usually the most painful. After this as the bone starts to heal and become more stable the pain should improve. Whilst the soft tissues recover people may have discomfort and stiffness for 3-4months following the original injury. It is not uncommon to have swelling in a limb for 6-9months following a fracture. Most of the pain can be managed with simple pain relief such as paracetamol and codeine.
Being injured is stressful enough. We aim to offer prompt, effective treatment with care
We care about our patients and getting them on the road to recovery as quickly as possible
First class care for our local population when you need it most
