Fractures and Dislocations Treatment: Our skeletal structure is a combination of tissues, nerves, and bones of various shapes and densities. The bones give you the ability to lift your body against the earth’s gravity. Your bones are strong enough and built with calcium, which helps to shield your organs from damage. The calcium levels in your bones decide your bone strength. Low calcium levels make your bones weak and vulnerable to fractures/dislocations. Fractures/dislocations are the most common bone and joint problems experienced by an individual.

What is a Dislocation?

A dislocation occurs in joints. It is also a type of fracture. When a joint that connects two bones slips out of position, it is called a joint dislocation. Commonly, it occurs in the shoulders and fingers due to a sudden and high external force on joints. The impact might be generated from a blow, fall, or any other trauma. Dislocation can happen to any joint in your body, such as your shoulder joint, hip joint, elbow joint, ankle, and knee joint. Even the smallest joints like finger and toe joints can also be dislocated. 

What Is a Fracture?

A fracture is nothing but a broken bone. Though bones are strong structures in your body, they tend to bend or break when they experience high external force. It is like when a bar breaks if it is twisted too far. It is a severe medical condition in which the connection of the bone is lost. 

Dr Vasudeva Juvvadi, one best fracture treatment specialist in Hyderabad, says, among doctors, exceptionally trained to treat bone problems like orthopaedic surgeons, “fracture” or “broken bone” is a common term they hear when talking about bones. A fracture can range from a mild sprain to crushing of bones, which sometimes require amputation.

Types Of Fractures

Bone fractures are of several types classified based on the severity of the fracture. A fracture might be a hairline crack, or the bone become pieces piercing out of the skin. A fracture may happen during a sprain or dislocation.

Closed Fracture: A bone gets broken but still intact with skin.

Open Fracture: In this type of fracture, the broken bone pierces out of the skin

Stable Fracture: This is a type of fracture where the broken bones’ ends are still lined up.

Segmental Fracture: The broken bone becomes two or more pieces. It is also called a comminuted fracture.

Malunion Fracture: A fracture that heals in the wrong direction.

Nonunion Fracture: A fracture that doesn’t heal even after treatment.

Avulsion Fracture: When your bone is broken, a tendon or ligament still attaches to the fractured bone ends.

Transverse fracture: if the fracture happens through a horizontal line across the bone

Oblique Fracture: The Fracture happens at a certain angle through the bone

Dislocation: when a bone is forced out of a joint from its original location, it is called dislocation.

Spiral fracture, Compression fractures, Torus fracture, etc., are some other fractures.

Fractures and dislocations Treatment of upper limb

The fractures and dislocations of the upper limb include Clavicular fracture, acromioclavicular dislocation; scapula: coracoid process fracture, acromial fracture, glenoid fracture and blade of scapula fracture; humerus: external epicondylar fracture, internal epicondyle fracture, supracondylar fracture (flexion), supracondylar fracture (extension), humeral shaft fracture and proximal humeral fracture; Radius: Smith fracture, Colles fracture, Barton fracture, Galeazzi fracture-dislocation, Essex Lopresti fracture-dislocation, radial neck fracture and radial head fracture; Ulna: Distal ulna fracture, ulnar styloid fracture, nightstick fracture, Monteggia fracture-dislocation, coronoid process fracture and olecranon fracture; Carpus: trapezium fracture, trapezoid fracture, hamate fracture, pisiform fracture, triquetral fracture, capitate fracture, perilunate fracture-dislocation, scaphoid fracture; Metacarpals: boxer’s fracture, Rolando fracture, epibasal thumb fracture (pseudo Bennett’s fracture-dislocation; phalanges: Baseball (Mallet) Finger and jersey finger

Fractures and dislocations Treatment of the toes

The foot bones that are usually subjected to fractures include the following: forefoot that includes 5 metatarsals and 14 phalanges; Midfoot: the cuboid, the navicular and cuneiforms and the Hindfoot: the calcaneus and the talus.

Causes of a fracture/Dislocation

A fracture/Dislocation can happen when your joint or bone is struck with greater force than it can sustain. The higher the pressure, the more severe the fracture. Here are some of the common causes of a fracture:

• Falls – often from heights
• A direct blow to your body
• Traumatic events like motor vehicle accidents
• Sports injuries

Some medical conditions like osteoporosis, bone cancer weaken your bones, which might cause fractures. Overuse or repetitive motions may lead to stress fractures.

Fracture vs dislocation symptoms

Symptoms of dislocation

If any joint is dislocated, you may experience symptoms like intense pain, swelling, weakness, numbness, and bruising. A dislocation can also damage ligaments or tendons or the nerves at the site of the joint.

Symptoms of Fracture

Fracture symptoms are slightly identical to joint dislocation, including tenderness, inflammation, deformation, and discolouration. However, the fracture symptoms vary depending on the severity.

If the patient lost sensation below the fracture or dislocation, then there is a possible risk of nerve or blood vessel damage.

Fractures and Dislocations First aid

• Fracture First Aid: Don’t move the person unless it is a necessity to do so. Immobilize the injured area by means of a splint and pad the splint to reduce the discomfort.
• Dislocation First Aid: Don’t move the person. Don’t try to move back the joint to its position by force or by any means. Leave the dislocation as such because any application of force will further damage or dislocate the joint and cause injury to nerves, ligaments, muscles and blood vessels. Put ice to get relief and reduce swelling. Get medical help immediately.

Fractures and dislocations treatment

Treatment for Fractures/Dislocations: When you have had a fracture or dislocation, moving further may cause more damage, so you should get treatment immediately by a trauma care specialist.

Read: Trauma and Fracture Surgery in Hyderabad

Fracture dislocation treatment

The fracture treatment: It depends upon the severity of the injury, and it can be either conventional treatment or surgical treatment. Surgical treatment is preferred when the fractures cannot be managed through traditional treatment. The surgery involves realignment of the broken bones, immobilization, and rehab. The choices of treatment include:

• Open Reduction & Internal Fixation
• External Fixation
• Traction
• Casts, Slings, Splints, Braces

Walkers, Canes, and Crutches are used for support while walking after treatment. The broken bones mostly heal after repositioning and immobilizing in a place while healing.

Dislocation Treatment

The treatment for dislocation is based on the joint you have dislocated and the severity of the damage. The treatment involves adjusting the miss-aligned bones in joints, repositioning them, and immobilizing them with the help of a splint or sling, or cast. During rehabilitation, medication, physio, etc., are further suggested. With proper treatment, you can regain your joint functions again within a few weeks.

Most of the time, joint dislocation can be treated without surgery. However, surgery is necessary when:

• The orthopaedic surgeon cannot adjust the dislocated bones into their original positions
• The adjacent nerves, ligaments, or blood vessels are damaged.
• The patient is experiencing recurrent dislocations, particularly with your shoulder joint.

There are many treatment options available to treat bone fractures. For information, consult Dr Vasudeva Juvvadi, one of the best orthopaedic surgeons in Hyderabad, at Sunshine Hospitals. You can get solutions for all your bone fractures, including Malunion Fractures, Non-union Fractures, and Delayed Union Fractures.