Many of us are unaware of how long does it take for a broken bone to heal. Cracked bones are painful, but most of them heal very well. The secret resides within the stem cells, and the cells impart bone its natural ability to heal itself. Your old bone is continuously replaced by new bone with the help of finely tuned cells. The stem cells produce cartilage and create new bone during the process of healing.

Stages of Bone Healing Timeline

Every broken bone undergoes the same healing process, whether it got cut during a surgical procedure or got broken due to an injury. The healing process of a broken bone has three stages:

• Inflammation
• Bone production
• Bone remodelling

Inflammation begins immediately after a bone fracture and persists for many days. When you have a bone fracture, bleeding starts in that area, resulting in inflammation and blood clots at the site of the fracture. This creates initial stability and a framework for the new bone to grow and develop.

Signs a Broken Bone is Healing

The bone starts to heal when the blood clots around the fractured bone are replaced with fibrous tissue and cartilage. As the healing process progresses, the hard callus replaces the soft callus known as a hard bone. It can be seen on X-rays after several weeks of the fracture.

Bone remodelling is the final stage in the healing process of a broken bone. It takes several weeks to months based on the severity of the fracture. In this stage, bone formation continues until it becomes compact and recovers to its original shape. Blood circulation also improves in that area. After gaining adequate bone healing, specific physical movements and exercises encourage bone remodelling.​

How Long Does It Take for a Fractured Bone to Heal? 

Generally, a broken bone takes around 6 to 12 weeks on average to heal up to a certain extent. However, bone healing time varies based on several factors such as the type of fracture whether open or closed, partial or complete, and its severity.

In general, the broken bones of children heal faster than adults. An orthopaedic surgeon who treats the fracture can determine the healing time and when should a patient get ready to attend his regular duties. The surgeon also suggests some tips to boost the recovery, such as physiotherapy, exercises, diet, etc.

Complications Of Bone Healing

However, in some cases, bone healing is not as successful as we expect and causes significant health problems. Around 10% of fractures take a long time to heal because they might not join back together correctly. They might be conditions like non-union bone fractures, delayed union bone fractures, which may require additional treatment.

Smoking Hinders Healing Process

Expert orthopaedic doctors say that they have observed the appearance of such non-healing fractures in people who smoke and drink alcohol or people who used to smoke. Studies say that this condition occurs because the nicotine from cigarettes inhibits the healing process.

In some cases, the bone heals in the wrong position and is called a malunion bone fracture.

Non-healing bone fractures become more problematic, particularly in the weight-bearing areas such as the shin bone.

Additional Procedures to Augment Healing

Additional procedures are performed to fix the gap, like stimulating the bone healing process through electronic devices. Orthopaedic surgeons use a bone graft (bone extracted from other parts of your body) or artificial materials like 3-D printed bone grafts to fill the hole.

Most of the time, the broken bone heals correctly, making use of its exceptional ability to regenerate. The new bone that fills the fracture gap resembles the original old bone before the injury, without leaving any trace of a scar.

How long Does It take for a cracked bone to heal?

To know more information about different treatment options for bone fractures, consult Dr Vasudeva Juvvadi, one of the best orthopaedic surgeons in Hyderabad. He has more than 11+ years of experience in treating various kinds of fractures.