Torus or buckle fractures are common in childhood, usually involving the radius or ulna bones in the forearm. They occur when the bone breaks on one side and bends outward on the other without breaking completely. Treatment involves casting or pinning for around three weeks, and they heal quickly. Parents can promote child safety to prevent accidents, but it’s impossible to prevent all fractures.
The standard definition of a torus or buckle fracture is that the bone breaks on one side and bends outward on the other without breaking completely; therefore the fracture is incomplete. This is often compared to a greenstick fracture, which also has a crease on one side and a break on the other. However, the greenwood fracture does not go away. However, the break area may sometimes appear misaligned or incorrect and may require scaling (movements to realign the break area).
Typically, this fracture is only present in childhood when the bones are growing and are still relatively soft, and most fractures will involve the radius: one of the forearm bones. A fracture of the torus of the ulna (another lower arm bone) is also very often seen. There are certainly medical reports of these forms of fractures occurring elsewhere in the body, but most of these fractures are found in the forearms.
Given the energy of children, it is quite easy for them to get a bull fracture. Many of these occur when a child reaches out during a fall and the impact is too strong. As any parent knows, falls happen frequently, from bikes, on roller skates, while skateboarding, and sometimes from beds and furniture. If the injured area feels sore after a fall, it’s a good idea to take your child to a doctor for diagnosis.
Fortunately, the bull’s fracture is one of the quickest to heal. May require casting or pinning, but often does not require reduction. Children may wear a cast or splints for about three weeks or so, and they may need another X-ray to make sure the bone has healed properly before any immobilization devices are removed. Time to treatment, provided a child is healthy and has normal bone growth, tends to be shorter than the treatment required for a greenstick fracture, which often requires a cast for six weeks and may require initial reduction ( not always).
Also, any pain felt following an injury tends to be relieved by immobilization. Most fractures are painful at first, and any bone break is scary, but this injury is unlikely to keep a child active for long. Mostly, children with a fracture like this might cite the inconvenience of wearing a cast, but the duration of wearing one is often only about three weeks.
Parents want to protect their children from injury, but there’s really no way to always prevent accidental fracture. A consequence of being a child is having high energy and soft bones, which sets the stage for a bull fracture. While parents may discourage reckless activity, they can’t prevent every accident unless they prevent every possible childhood activity, and even then, a fall out of bed in the middle of the night could cause one of these fractures. Most doctors advise parents concerned about this issue to work on child safety in its most practical forms. For example, people can force children to wear bicycle helmets and have children strapped into cars, and these preventatives along with many other child safety tips can help prevent some of the most serious health risks for children: although a bull fracture isn’t any fun, frankly it’s not serious when people get proper medical care.
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