Different Types of Bone Fractures

One of the most important systems of the human body is the skeletal system. It provides a strong and sturdy framework to the body, giving it strength and proper shape. The main component of the skeletal system are the bones. The human body has 206 bones.

Our bones are very strong; there are many daily activities that put a lot of pressure on different bones in the body. However, a bone is still susceptible to injury, which may cause a bone to fracture. A bone fracture is medically defined as loss of continuity of the bone. The continuity of bones may be lost on account of a minor crack, or major breakage of the bone. A fracture is often caused when undue or excessive pressure is applied on the bone.

This immediately makes you wonder - how much is too much pressure? There isn't one correct answer to this question. Different bones in the body have different tolerance levels and capacity to endure stress. Each bone has its own threshold value. When the pressure applied on a particular bone crosses it's threshold value, it results in a fracture.

Factors that Affect Bone Fractures

Before we learn about the types of bone fractures, let us consider different factors that affect bone fractures.

• Age: Old people are more susceptible to fractures, since their bones are brittle; children rarely suffer from fractures, since their bones are flexible
• Health: Diet habits can greatly affect the health of your bones, and hence make you more or less susceptible to bone fractures
• Occupation: Athletes, sportsperson are more prone than people with sedentary jobs, housewives, etc.
• Which bone: Different bones in the body have different capacities to bear impact and hence vary in degree of susceptibility to fractures
• Nature of impact: The amount and direction of force or pressure that the bone was subjected to (in other words, the momentum)

All these factors affect the degree of fracture (minor or acute), as well as the type of bone fracture caused.

Types of Bone Fractures

~ Ordinary and Pathologic Fractures ~

Normally, people suffer from a fracture as a result of them having performed an activity that subjected the bone to excessive pressure, stress, or a deep impact. For example, a fall, a car accident, etc. Any normal person, with average health and body constitution can suffer from such a fracture. Of the above factors, those of age, occupation, which bone and nature of impact play a greater role in this case.

However, certain medical conditions such as osteopenia, osteoporosis, bone marrow cancer, bone cyst, or inherited bone disorders etc. weaken the bones to such an extent that trivial impact can also cause the bones to fracture. These fractures are different from normal fractures, in that the impact involved in causing the fracture is rather trivial, of less severity. These fractures are also known as pathologic fractures.

~ Types of Bone Fractures ~

The most common way to classify bone fractures is on the basis of different features of a fracture. This is known as orthopedic classification. Here is a list of the different types of bone fractures according to the orthopedic classification.

• Open fracture: An open fracture is a fracture where the broken bone is exposed. That is dangerous because of increased chances of infection. It is also called compound fracture.
• Closed fracture: Also known as simple fracture, a closed fracture is a fracture where the bone is broken, but the skin is intact.
• Complete fracture: The two pieces of the bone, resulting from the fracture, completely separate from each other.
• Incomplete fracture: In this, the two pieces of bone, resulting from the fracture do not completely separate from each other; the bone pieces are still joined to some extent. This happens when the crack (or fracture) does not traverse along the entire width of the bone.
• Multi-fragmentary fracture: In this the bone splits into multiple pieces.
• Compression fracture: A compression fracture is a closed fracture that occurs when two or more bones are forced against each other. It commonly occurs to the bones of the spine and may be caused by falling into a standing or sitting position, or a result of advanced osteoporosis.
• Avulsion fracture: An avulsion fracture is a closed fracture where a piece of bone is broken off by a sudden, forceful contraction of a muscle. This type of fracture is common in athletes and can occur when muscles are not properly stretched before activity. This fracture can also because of an injury.
• Impacted fracture: An impacted fracture is similar to a compression fracture, yet it occurs within the same bone. It is a closed fracture which occurs when pressure is applied to both ends of the bone, causing it to split into two fragments that jam into each other. This type of fracture is common in car accidents and falls.
• Stress fracture: It is a common overuse injury. It is most often seen in athletes who run and jump on hard surfaces such as runners, ballet dancers and basketball players.
• Linear fracture: In this the fracture is parallel to the bone's long axis.
• Transverse fracture: In this the fracture is at a right angle to the bone's long axis.
• Oblique fracture: In this the fracture is diagonal to a bone's long axis.
• Spiral fracture: In this at least one part of the bone has been twisted.
• Comminuted fracture: In this the fracture results in several fragments.
• Compacted fracture: In this the fracture is caused when bone fragments are driven into each other.

Similarly, bone fractures maybe classified anatomically as well, i.e. based on which bone of the body has suffered from the fracture. This is commonly known as anatomical classification. Anatomically, fractures maybe identified as follows -

• Skull fracture
• Spinal fracture
• Rib fracture
• Sternal fracture
• Shoulder fracture
• Arm fracture
• Hand fracture
• Pelvic fracture
• Femoral fracture (affecting the femur bone, i.e. upper leg; also known as hip fracture)
• Patellar fracture
• Crus fracture (affecting the tibia and/or fibula bones, i.e. lower leg)
• Foot fracture

So those were the different types of fractures. Apart from the two systems of classification of bone fracture types given above, many other systems also exist, such as OTA classification, Dennis classification, Neer Classification, etc. These methods are, however, less common and also often confusing; hence they have not been discussed here. Depending on the type of bone fracture, the healing time of the fracture, as well as the treatment suggested may vary greatly. One general thumb rule, however, is to give the fractured bone complete rest and to prevent it from experiencing any kind of pressure or stress.