Hairline Fracture

Hairline fractures are a common thing that many people, specially people who are involved in sports, suffer from. This type of fracture is also called a stress fracture and usually occurs due to the continuous excretion of force, greater than usual force that the bones of our feet and lower legs can take. It is usually a small tiny crack in the bone, the size of hair strand, and thus the name. It mainly occurs on those bones which bears a lot of weight, such as the tibia bones or the bones of the lower leg and the metatarsals or the bones of the foot.

Causes

As you must be knowing that the bones of our body are always trying to repair and remodel themselves i.e. they are always growing and producing new cells. This process mainly takes place when the person is exerting too much pressure on his lower bones. If the force exerted on the bones is more than the normal pressure that the bones can carry, then the capacity of the bones to repair themselves, is lowered and that particular area becomes weak. Slowly, stress fracture appears on that particular area. These fractures though, do not appear suddenly like compound fractures, because they are formed over time and with stress.

Fatigue in the muscles is also another cause for stress fracture. Bones and muscles are responsible for absorbing the shock that is exerted while a person either walks or runs. But, when he runs for a long distance, then the muscles becomes tired or fatigued and thus they fail to absorb the shock. Hence what happens is that too much pressure is now exerted on the lower bones and this in turn leads to the fractures.

Symptoms

Unlike other bone fractures, stress fractures are not that obvious. When a person gets this fracture for the first time, he might not even notice it, hence with time, the fracture worsens and then problems starts. In order to prevent this, it is important that one knows the various symptoms so that treatments can be started off immediately. The various symptoms are:

• Swelling of the area where the person had got hurt.
• The area pains a lot when pressure is exerted on it, but when the area is left motionless for sometime, the pain ceases.
• One particular part of the bone feels tender or sometimes very painful to touch.
• Tingling feeling and the area becomes numb.
• Sometimes, ankles or the wrist or the affected part becomes very difficult to move easily.
• That part turns pale.
• The area which has this problem cannot carry excess weight.
• Deformity of the limb which has the stress fracture.

If a person falls and injures himself and starts showing these symptoms, then they must visit the doctor soon. If the fracture is not taken proper care of then it might worsen.

Treatment Options

Rest, rest and more rest...that's one of the best treatment. In fact, this is one of the best treatments for all the different types of fractures that we suffer from. The time of healing depends on where the fracture has taken place and how severe it is and also whether or not the person is taking proper care of himself and also how fast he/she heals up. The period of complete rest might vary from 5 to 6 weeks. However, if the fracture is severe, then the person is asked to rest for at least 10 to 15 weeks.

Another treatment is that the person is asked to be given an ice pack to ease the pain and also to repair the bones quickly. The injured part is also kept at a higher position than the rest of the body. If the situation is severe, then a cast is also used but only for temporary basis. There are several medications that are used by the doctors to treat stress fracture and also to relieve the pain.

The best thing is to prevent it and that can be done by having a proper healthy diet, rich in calcium and vitamins, which makes the bones stronger. One should also carry out proper exercises that helps in building up the muscles and also strengthens it. Just be careful and visit a doctor when you get hurt and show the above symptoms and follow what they say.