Injuries, in particular fractures, often occur in people's lives. Many are interested in how much the fracture heals. Healing periods may vary, depending on the degree of damage to a particular part of the body.
Severities of injury
How long a broken bone heals depends on the severity of the damage. There are three degrees of severity:
- Fractures are easy. Healing time is about 20-30 days. This group includes injuries to the ribs, hand and fingers.
- Fractures of moderate severity. Healing occurs within one to three months.
- Severe fractures mostly require surgical therapy, and full recovery time can be up to a year.
Also, according to the type of injury, fractures are closed and open. This also affects how much the fracture heals.
Stages of bone regeneration
In medical practice, the following regeneration stages have been identified:
- Catabolism of structurestissue and cellular infiltration. The tissue dies after damage, cells disintegrate into elements, hematomas appear.
- Cell differentiation. This stage is characterized by primary bone fusion. If the blood supply is good, union occurs as primary osteogenesis. Its duration varies from ten to fifteen days.
- The stage of primary osteon formation. A callus begins to form on the damaged area. Primary growth takes place. The tissue is pierced by capillaries, its protein base hardens. A chaotic network of bone trabeculae sprouts, and they, connecting, form the primary osteon.
- Corn spongiosis. This stage is characterized by the appearance of a bone plastic cover, a cortical substance is formed, and the damaged structure is restored. Depending on how severe the damage is, this stage can last from several months to three years.
A prerequisite for a normally healing fracture is the flow of recovery stages without disturbances and complications.
Varieties of callus
Under the types of callus is understood primary and secondary fusion. The union of a bone fracture occurs through the formation of a bone callus. The following varieties are distinguished:
- outer (periosteal) callus is created mainly due to the periosteum;
- internal (endosteal) callus is formed from the side of the endosteum;
- intermediary callus fills the cleft at the junction of the compact fusion of bone fragmentsbones;
- paraosseous callus is formed in the form of a bridge between parts of bone fragments.
The condition of bone fragments (contact density, displacement level, fixation strength) affects various types of bone tissue repair. If the fragments are well aligned and tightly in contact, fixed firmly, then the fusion is characterized by a minimum of periosteal callus and mainly due to the intermediary callus.
Formation of endosteal and periosteal callus
Initially, the fusion of bone fragments occurs through the formation of endosteal and periosteal calluses. Once the fragments are held tightly by the callus, an intermediate (intermediary) callus appears, which is of primary importance in all types of fracture union.
When the fusion is formed by the intermediary callus, the endosteal and periosteal calluses are reduced, and the intermediary turns into the morphological structure of a normal bone.
Normally healed primary type fracture becomes the most optimal (perfect), heals earlier with the best structure of bone restoration.
If the fragments are displaced even with a comminuted fracture, the main role in fusion falls on the periosteum, and the fracture heals in the form of a secondary one, when a clear periosteal callus is formed.
Healing speed of various fractures
The mechanism of a normally healing fracture is complex, the process takes a long time. With a closed fracture of one place of the leg or arm, highhealing speed, it ranges from nine to fourteen days. Multiple damage heals for about a month. The longest and most dangerous for regeneration is an open fracture, the healing time in such situations is more than two months. If the bones are displaced in relation to each other, then the duration of the recovery process increases even more.
The reasons for the slow recovery rate of a normally healing fracture can be excessive load on the affected limb, improper therapy, or a lack of calcium in the patient's body.
Speed of healing of childhood fractures
In a child, the treatment of a fracture is 30% faster than in adults. This is due to the high content of ossein and protein in the children's skeleton. The periosteum is thicker, it has an excellent blood supply. The skeleton of children is constantly growing, and the presence of growth zones accelerates bone fusion even more. In children from six to twelve years of age with damaged bone tissue, fragments are corrected without surgical intervention, and therefore, in most situations, specialists manage only by applying plaster.
Just like in adults, the rate at which an injury heals is affected by age and how close the fracture is to the joint.
The younger the child, the higher the possibility of correction of bone fragments by the body. The closer the disorder is to the growth zone, the sooner it will heal. However, displaced injuriesrecover more slowly.
Most common childhood fractures:
- Full. In such cases, the bone is divided into several parts.
- Compression fractures occur due to strong compression along the axis of the tubular bone. Recovery occurs from 15 to 25 days.
- Green branch fracture type. The limb is bent, with the formation of fragments and cracks. Occurs when excessive pressure is applied with a force that is insufficient for absolute destruction.
- Plastic bend. Appears in the elbow and knee joints. Partial destruction of bone tissue without cracks and scars is noted.
Average recovery times for adults
The process of bone fusion in adults lasts longer. This is due to the fact that the periosteum becomes thinner with age, and calcium is excreted from the body with harmful substances and toxins. The hand fracture is slowly healing. A fused fracture of the arm, however, is less dangerous for the patient than a fracture of the leg.
So, consider the healing time of fractures of various bones of the body.
They heal over the following time:
- Elbow bone - from 61 to 76 days.
- Forearm bones - from 70 to 85 days.
How long does a broken finger heal? By the time it takes:
- Phalanges of fingers - 22 days.
- Carpal bones - 29 days.
- Radius - from 29 to 36 days.
- Bone of the shoulder - from 42 to 59 days.
Of course, a broken arm is very unpleasant. Conjoined fracture of the handcan be normal and wrong.
Healing time for leg fractures:
- Heel bone - 35 to 42 days.
- Does a metatarsal fracture heal? Yes, at rates ranging from three weeks to 42 days.
- Ankle - from 46 to 60 days.
- Patellite - about a month.
- A normally healed femoral fracture can be observed from a month to two.
- Pelvic bones - about a month.
In adults, only during the 15th to 23rd day after the injury, primary foci of callus of the bone appear, they are perfectly visible on the X-ray. Along with this, or earlier, the tips of bone fragments become dull for 2-3 days, and their contours in the area of the callus grow dull and smeared. The ends for the second month become smooth, the corns have clear outlines. It thickens over the course of a year and gradually levels off along the bone surface. The crack itself goes away only 6-8 months after the injury.
The duration of healing cannot be determined even by the most accurate orthopedist, since all indicators are individual, depending on a large number of factors.
How long does a fracture heal and what does it depend on?
Factors affecting the rate of bone fusion
Recovery of a broken bone is determined by a number of factors that either speed it up or hinder it. The regeneration process itself is individual in each case.
The decisive role for the speed of healing belongs to the provision of first aid. It is important to prevent an open fractureinfection in the wound, since suppuration and inflammation will slow down the recovery process. There will be faster healing if small bones were broken.
The speed of recovery also depends on the age of the patient, the location and area of damage to the bone cover, as well as other conditions.
Bone fusion will be more effective in the presence of such factors:
- following medical recommendations;
- wearing a cast for the entire scheduled time;
- reducing the load on the broken limb.
In open fractures, callus formation takes much longer if a wound infection develops, which is accompanied by bone sequestration and post-traumatic osteomyelitis. That is why, with improper fracture therapy, the formation of callus slows down or does not occur at all. In such situations, fractures that do not heal for a long time, characterized by slow consolidation, as well as false joints appear:
- If patients suffer from hypovitaminosis and beriberi (osteomalacia in pregnant women, rickets, scurvy).
- If there are disorders of the parathyroid glands (decrease in the concentration of calcium in the blood) and adrenal hyperfunction.
- In chronic diseases (syphilis, tuberculosis, syringomyelia, diabetes mellitus, tumors of the spinal cord and brain). The impairment of peripheral nerves negatively affects the consolidation of fractures. Bone regeneration also slows down with cachexia, anemia and radiation sickness.
- If hormonal drugs are taken for a long time ("Prednisolone","Hydrocortisone", etc.). The use of heparin and dicoumarin prolongs the period of fracture consolidation.
Significant factors in the union of fractures are the viability and blood supply to the ends of bone fragments, which are often disturbed in the presence of fractures. In the bone itself, damage to the vessels of soft tissues also occurs. In the zone of the epiphyses, where the articular capsules and synovial torsion are attached, veins and arteries enter the bone.
A normally fused fracture of the radius is formed better and faster due to the excellent blood supply to the endings of bone fragments. The lower third of the ulna, humerus and tibia has a poor blood supply, and therefore fractures of such localization grow together worse. In the absence of blood supply to one part of the damaged bone, this area is not involved in the recovery (medial fractures of the navicular or femoral neck).
If the fracture healed with displacement
A displaced fracture is one in which the fragments lose their correct position and are displaced relative to each other. Manifested by deformation and / or shortening, less often - lengthening of the limb. There are various types of displacement, including axial, lengthwise, rotational and angular. The diagnosis is confirmed by X-ray. If necessary, use CT, MRI, arthroscopy and other studies. To eliminate the displacement, one-stage reposition is performed, skeletal traction is applied, or various surgical techniques are used.
Help with bone fusionfragments
The fusion of bone fragments is helped by the presence in the patient's diet of vegetables and fruits, foods containing a lot of calcium. These include sesame, cheese, fish and cottage cheese.
In order for the fracture to heal faster, it is advisable to use egg shells, this accelerates fusion due to the presence of calcium in it. The shell should be dipped in boiling water, then crushed to a powder and taken one teaspoon twice a day.
Provides the patient's body with all the minerals he needs mummy. You need to take it three times a day for half a teaspoon, first diluted with warm water. Fir oil helps the fusion. You need to mix 3-4 drops with bread crumb and eat.
Essential Medicines
If healing is slow, drugs are prescribed that speed up the recovery process. Medicines that contribute to the formation of cartilage tissue will help in this: Chondroitin, Teraflex, a combination of Glucosamine and Chondroitin. Appointment is made exclusively by the attending physician.
When callus is formed, vitamin D, phosphorus, and calcium supplements should be taken until bone regeneration is complete. A prerequisite for the use of these funds is a medical prescription.
To prevent the occurrence of osteomyelitis, people with open fractures are prescribed immunomodulators: Timalin, Levamisole and sodium nucleinate.
To regulate cellular immunity and phagocytosis, lipopolysaccharides are prescribed: "Prodigiosan",Pyrogenal.
Elderly patients are prescribed calcitonins ("Kalsinar", "Kalcitrin"), in rare cases - fluoride extracts and biophosphonates. In situations in which the fusion of fragments is impossible by the human body's own forces, anabolic steroids are used.
Rosehip tincture is considered an effective folk recipe. To prepare it, you need to take a tablespoon of crushed rose hips, then pour boiling water over them and leave for six hours. Be sure to filter the broth, taken 5-6 times a day for a tablespoon. Rosehip allows you to speed up the recovery process, bone regeneration and strengthens the immune system.
Forecast and delayed consolidation
To predict the union of a fracture, it is necessary to proceed from the usual course of repair processes, which are described in the sections of traumatology.
Consolidation of delayed fractures due to incorrect treatment. Delayed consolidation is clinically manifested in the form of elastic mobility of the broken site, pain during axial load, in some cases, reddening of the epidermis at the fracture site. A radiographically indistinct manifestation of callus is detected.
Delayed consolidation therapy can be surgical or conservative. Conservative treatment consists in continuing the fracture immobilization for the period required for fusion, as if with a fresh fracture (from 2-3 months or even more), which can be achieved by using a plaster cast, compression devices, wearing orthoses (orthopedic devices).
To speed up callus formation, other conservative methods are also used:
- injection of autologous blood (from 10 to 20 ml) between fragments with a thick needle;
- use of congestive hyperemia;
- physiotherapy: electrophoresis of calcium s alts, anabolic hormones (retabolil, methandrostenolone, etc.), UHF;
- beating the fracture site with a wooden hammer (Turner method);
- Electrical stimulation with weak currents.
The article described how long a fracture heals and what factors affect the recovery time after an injury.
