What is Fracture?
A fracture is a break in any bone in the body. Fractures are usually caused by trauma. This may be falls, twists, blows or collisions. There are different kinds of fracture:
- The bone may be fractured but stable (simple fracture)
- Bone fragments may be sticking through the skin (open)
Fractures may also be described as:
- Chip (avulsion fracture)-A small piece of bone is broken away from the main bone.
- Compression-The bone is compressed together (ie, vertebrae).
- Comminuted-The bone is in pieces.
- Greenstick-This is a fracture in which one side of the bone is broken, and the other side is bent but not broken.
- Intra-articular-The joint is affected.
- Transverse-The bone is broken in a horizontal line that is perpendicular to the surface of the bone cortex.
- Oblique-The bone is broken in a line that is less than a 90° angle to the surface of the bone cortex.
- Spiral-The line of the fracture forms a spiral.
- Stress-A thin fracture line occurs due to overuse rather than a single traumatic incident.