A minor fracture is also known as an incomplete fracture. When this happens, your bone doesn’t break completely. Often times, it’s only a hairline crack. Intense pain may also occur in the area and may be become worse when you move or touch it.
Minor or Incomplete Fracture
Causes
A fracture can happen when your bone impacts something with greater force or pressure than it can support. The force is often sudden and intense. The force of pressure to the bone determines the extent of the fracture.
The older you are, the more brittle your bones become and the more likely you are to suffer a fracture during an accident or fall. Having low bone density, drinking alcohol, smoking and being physically inactive can also play a role in a higher probability for fractures. Common causes of fractures include:
- Falling
- Body being struck by something
- Sport injuries
- Trauma like a car accident
Symptoms
There are many ways to tell if you have a fracture. When a fracture happens, there’s usually sharp and intense pain to the area. The pain may become worse if you try to touch or move the area. Other symptoms may include:
- Snapping or grinding where the injury happened
- Redness or swelling of the injured area
- Difficulty moving or supporting weight to injured area
- Visible deformity to the injured area
Should I go to Indigo?
A medical professional should always look at a fracture, even when it’s minor. The physician will try to mend the bones back together and stabilize them with a plastic or fiberglass cast to keep them immobile while they heal, as the most common bone fracture treatment.
During the healing process, new bone will form around the edges of the broken pieces to reconnect them.
The more severe the fracture, the more intense medical management of fracture may be required, which can include traction to further stabilize the break or even surgery. Depending on the severity of the fracture, the bone healing time of a fracture can take several weeks or months to heal properly.
Indigo can evaluate your injury to determine if it is a minor fracture that we can treat, or if we need to refer you to a higher level of care. All Indigo Urgent Care locations offer onsite digital x-ray services.
Come on in!
If you need a sports physical, we recommend scheduling an in-person appointment at any of our Indigo Urgent Care locations.
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