A simple fracture is a break in the bone that doesn’t penetrate the skin, but it can still be severe. Fractures can be classified as incomplete or complete, and there are different ways bones can break. Accurate diagnosis is important, and treatment varies depending on the severity of the fracture.
Simple fracture is often compared to compound fracture. Compound breaks immediately seem very serious because the bone penetrates the skin; the bone can remain outside the skin or cause a cut from the inside and come back where it can’t be seen. In contrast, a simple fracture is a break in the bone that doesn’t penetrate the skin. Simple doesn’t necessarily mean less severe, and there are other ways to gauge the severity of bone fractures.
A further set of terms can be applied to fractures and these are also important. A compound or simple break can be classified as incomplete or complete, which has to do with how much bone is broken. When the break completely cuts the bone in two, it is complete and this can be seen in both types of fracture. Incomplete fracture refers to partial breakage of bone, where the two parts of the bone are still connected by one piece of bone. These definitions get even more refined and may refer to the way bones break, such as crosswise (transverse), bent (green stick), or in other ways.
What these definitions suggest is that simple is not necessarily easy. A complete simple fracture that breaks into fragments (comminuted) can take a long time to heal and be difficult to repair. Additionally, bone displacement within the skin can damage many tissues beneath its surface, including ligaments and blood vessels. Just because people can’t see bone sticking out of a wound doesn’t mean that fractures are less serious. Also, because bones can spring back within an injury in a compound fracture, it could be mistaken for a simple one.
Any suspected bone break is serious and requires immediate medical attention. It’s hard to tell exactly the extent of the damage, especially with a simple fracture, because the damage happens beneath the surface. To accurately diagnose the severity of a bone fracture, medical professionals rely on scans such as X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, and computed tomography (CT) scans. These images allow healthcare professionals to determine how to deal with a fracture and often give them an idea of how long treatment will be needed, although each person is individual.
In some cases, a simple fracture can be treated easily and some may not even require a cast if the breaks are very small. Other times, extensive casting and/or surgery may be needed to address the bone damage that is under the skin. Treatment time will also differ, depending on the type of fracture and any additional conditions that could speed or slow bone healing.
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