Anatom3D
ENCZDE
Download

Fractures

Fractura · Zlomeniny

What it is

Bone breaks; healing takes 6–12 weeks and needs blood supply and stability.

Symptoms & signs

  • Pain
  • swelling
  • deformity
  • inability to use the limb
  • bruising
  • crepitus

🚩 Get help if…

  • call 112 / 911 now Bone poking through the skin, or an open wound over the break
  • call 112 / 911 now Limb cold, pale, numb or blue below the injury
  • call 112 / 911 now Pain far worse than expected, rising despite a cast or splint
  • see a doctor soon Swelling and pain that don't settle within a few days

Where it strikes

Medical treatment

  • Reduction and immobilisation
  • internal fixation with plates or nails
  • external fixator
  • physiotherapy afterwards
  • low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (Exogen) — FDA-approved for fresh fractures and non-union; the large TRUST trial in tibial fractures found no faster healing mixed evidence

Natural & lifestyle

  • Protein and calcium
  • vitamin D
  • stop smoking (slows healing, more non-union)
  • early loading when allowed
  • weight-bearing progression

Emerging & experimental

  • Bioresorbable magnesium implants
  • BMP-2 and PTH for non-union
  • 3D-printed patient-specific implants

Alternative, off-label & anecdotal

Approaches used outside the guidelines, with what their supporters report and what testing has found so far.

  • Vitamin C after a wrist fracture — trials show fewer cases of complex regional pain syndrome mixed evidence
  • Comfrey ointment for sprains and bruises — trials support; not on open wounds mixed evidence
  • Arnica — trials disagree mixed evidence
  • Bone broth — popular; untested anecdotal / traditional

ICD codes