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Orthopedic News Is it Fractured or Broken?

Is it Fractured or Broken?

  • 2 min read

Winter is coming!  Big first snows of the year on our local mountain ranges have provided an early start to the ski season.  Whether you prefer the slopes of Big Bear, the peaks at Mammoth, or travelling out of state for your ski adventure, this year should provide a lot of opportunity for winter fun.  Growing up in Minnesota we didn’t really have much skiing.  What skiing we had was usually on ice covered “mountains” in northern Minnesota.  I remember riding on a ski lift in Duluth with the wind chill at -20 and asking myself, how did I get here?   But, now that I am in California, skiing is much more enjoyable. 

On the slopes be sure to take all the proper precautions.  Know your skill level and be humble enough to stick to it.  Common skiing injuries include wrist fractures, collar bone fractures, knee sprains and shoulder dislocations. 

One common question I hear from patients is, “is it broken or fractured?”.  In medical terminology, we use the term fracture to describe a broken bone. Fractures can be displaced, meaning the bone has shifted or moved, or non-displaced.  They can be simple, meaning one fracture line (or ‘clean break’ in common language), or comminuted, meaning multiple pieces.  Fractures can be closed, meaning the skin is intact, or open, meaning the bone breaks through the skin (often referred to as compound fractures).

Wrist fractures occur from falling onto an outstretched hand (FOOSH injury as the ER describes it).  Most wrist fractures occur to the end of the radius bone and can be treated non operatively in a cast or brace.  But, if the fracture is comminuted, or is significantly displaced, surgery may be required.

Clavicle (collar bone) fractures occur from falling directly onto the side of the shoulder. Most can be treated non operatively in a sling.  However, if the fracture is displaced surgery may be required to align the bone and allow it to heal properly. This is typically done with a plate and screws.

We’ve discussed knee injuries in my previous blog so I won’t address that again here.  Look for a shoulder dislocation blog coming out soon or, go to our website under the services tab to read more about them. 

Have a fun and safe ski season!

Dr. Ryan Morgan, MD

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