Going to an Emergency Room for Bone Fracture Treatment

Breaking a bone can be a painful experience, but you may not realize just how often bone breaks happen. Whether from accidental falls or trauma, overuse and repetitive motion or chronic health conditions, experts estimate the average person will break two bones during their lifetime. As we age, we lose bone density, which increases our risk of fractures. According to the Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation, one in two women and one in four men will break a bone in their lifetime due to osteoporosis alone.

It’s important to understand what types of bone fractures require a trip to the emergency room and which ones can be treated at your local urgent care center.

Let’s talk more about the different types of bone fractures that occur, when you should go to the ER for bone fracture treatment and what to expect at the ER.

When to Go to the Emergency Room for a Bone Fracture

You can break any bone in your body, but some are more likely to break than others due to high usage and where they're located. For example, breaking an ankle or arm bone is much more common than breaking a rib bone.

Common causes of bone fractures include:

• Bones weakened by age, certain medications or medical conditions
• Falls
• Nutritional deficiencies, such as calcium or vitamin D
• Osteoporosis
• Overuse or repetitive stress
• Sports injuries
• Trauma, such as a car accident

While it may feel like it, not every bone fracture is considered an emergency. Knowing what types of fractures can be cared for at an urgent care center can help you save both time and money.

Bone fractures that can normally be taken care of at your local urgent care include:

• Clean bone breaks where the bone does not pierce the skin and there's no blood
• Fractures in small bones in the outer edge of the body, like fingers, toes, wrists and ankles
• Hairline stress fractures
• No numbness or tingling in the limb with the broken bone
• Pain is manageable with over-the-counter medications
• Simple fractures where the bone ends are still in line and haven't moved

Bone breaks that require emergency bone fracture treatment include:

• Bone ends that have pierced the skin and are visible
• Fracture is accompanied by another injury
• Heavy bleeding along with the bone fracture
• Loss of consciousness
• Numbness around the broken bone site
• Patient is an older adult or young child
• Possible breaks to weight-bearing bones such as the pelvis, hip, spine, skull or neck
• Segments of bone look misaligned

If you’re ever in doubt whether your fracture requires emergency treatment, it’s best to play it safe and go directly to your nearest AdventHealth ER.

What to Expect During Bone Fracture Treatment in the ER

If you or a loved one needs to go to the emergency room for a broken bone, here’s what you can expect during your visit:

1. Once at the ER, you’ll check in at the front desk, so a health care professional can quickly assess your injured area, known as triage.
2. A doctor will examine the fracture site to see what the damage looks like.
3. Your health care provider may offer you pain medications to help make you more comfortable.
4. Next, your doctor will order an imaging test, such as an X-ray, to help them see the fracture.
5. Depending on your situation, treatment to help fractures heal includes immobilization of the break, using a cast or splint, so it heals correctly, realignment of the bone if the ends are out of position or surgery for more severe cases.
6. Your doctor will request you follow up with your primary care provider as soon as possible, and may also refer you to an orthopedist for rehab if needed.

Types of Bone Fractures

Unfortunately, bones can be broken in a number of different ways. Bone fractures usually fit into one of four categories:

• Closed fracture, where the bone stays underneath the skin
• Compound or open fracture, where the bone pierces the skin and can be seen
• Displaced fracture, where the pieces of broken bone are no longer aligned with each other
• Nondisplaced fracture, where the bone segments stay in alignment

Some of the most common types of bone fractures include:

• Avulsion fracture: when a ligament or tendon pulls away a part of the bone that it surrounds due to a hard jump or landing
• Comminuted fracture: when the bone breaks into three or more pieces
• Compression fracture: when one of the vertebrae in your spine collapses
• Greenstick fracture: normally happens in children, where only one side of a bone breaks and the other side bends
• Oblique fracture: when the bone breaks on a diagonal
• Segmented fracture: when the bone fractures into two or more distinct places, creating multiple bone segments
• Spiral fracture: when the bone breaks in a twisted pattern
• Stress fracture: tiny, hairline fractures that occur from overuse of a particular bone, such as the wrist or ankle
• Transverse fracture: runs along the entire length of the bone

How Bone Fractures Are Diagnosed

To treat a bone fracture properly, your doctor needs to be able to assess the category and type of bone break you have. This is normally done through both a physical exam and diagnostic imaging.

During the physical exam, your doctor will examine the area where the bone is broken to look for signs of swelling or blood loss. They’ll also want to see if the bone segments are no longer in alignment and if there are multiple breaks. And, depending on which bone you’ve broken, your doctor may ask you to try to move your leg, arm or other area of the body to make sure there isn’t any nerve damage.

There are several diagnostic imaging tests that doctors can use to determine the best course of bone fracture treatment, such as:

• Bone scans
• CT scans
• MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging)
• Ultrasound
• X-rays

Once your doctor is able to see a clear picture of the break, they’ll be able to suggest the best treatment options for your unique needs.

What Happens After the Initial Treatment

Depending on your specific situation, treating a bone fracture may include:

• A prescription for pain relief medication
• Bone realignment in a displaced fracture
• Immobilization of the broken bone using a splint, cast, functional boot or sling
• Physical therapy or rehabilitation
• Surgery to realign and affix bones back together
• Temporary mobility aids such as crutches, walkers or a wheelchair to use until your bone heals

Your urgent care or ER doctor will advise you to make a follow-up appointment with your primary care provider and may also provide you with a referral to an orthopedist or orthopedic surgeon for more specialized bone care.

It's important to remember that broken bones take time to heal. Depending on your age, current health and the severity of the bone fracture, they can take anywhere from six to 12 weeks to heal properly.

Make sure to follow all of your doctor's care instructions and make healthy lifestyle choices to help speed your recovery, including eating a healthy diet, not smoking and getting plenty of rest for ultimate bone health.

Find Expert Bone Fracture Care at AdventHealth

Getting timely treatment for a bone fracture can help ensure you or your loved one’s broken bone heals correctly. Regardless of your type of bone fracture, we’re here to help. Find your nearest AdventHealth emergency room location or call one of our fracture health care specialists today.