When i came to i was aware something was very wrong. In humans the neck of the femur connects the shaft and head at a. The femur is the strongest and thickest bone in the body. Infusions were ok with no side effects, that is until i lifted my leg and my femur cracked in half. These fractures often involve the cartilage surface of the knee joint and are most commonly seen in people with severe osteoporosis or those who have previously undergone total knee replacement surgery. Diagnostic medical group of southern california a medical imaging clinic located at san gabriel, california. They are typically sustained in highimpact trauma, such as car crashes, due to the large amount of force needed to break the bone. Distal femur thighbone fractures of the knee orthoinfo. It can break when a child experiences a sudden forceful impact.
I had my surgery in 2010, a hip fracture that was repaired with 3 screws, the screws broke the hip had to be fully replaced, the surgeon told me there was no healing taken place. In view of the larger surface area for the new bone to be laid down in. Apr 02, 2015 the human femur can resist forces of 1,800 to 2,500 pounds, so it is not easily fractured. During fracture treatment of femur bone the biomaterials are used for fracture healing. Thr my femur cracked during surgery joint replacement. Proximal femur fractures, or hip fractures, involve the uppermost portion of the thigh bone just adjacent to the hip joint. Bone fractures, knee dislocations, sprains and ligament damage can also occur to your knee and mcl. In my case, femur cracked at the top when the post was being hammered into the bone my description, not medical. This lesson is about fracture of the femur and related symptoms, treatment. As i come down my ankle grasps the sidewalk border and my leg snaps in half, i hear it clear as day, spin in the air and land backward on the ground catching my leg as it flies toward me.
The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates with the tibia and kneecap forming the knee joint. The healing process typically takes up to six months. The femur, your thigh bone, is the largest and strongest bone in your body. Femur or thighbone is the longest and strongest bone in your body.
It can happen for lots of reasons and in many ways. Within six months after that 20 months after the injury, i was completely healed and had no physical restrictions. Athletes rarely fracture this bone because of the shear force it takes to break the femur. Thr cracked femur during surgery joint replacement. Femur anatomy is so unique that it makes the bone suitable for supporting the numerous muscular and ligamentous attachments within this region, in addition to maximally extending the limb during ambulation. However, others that completely break the bone, cause the bone to be crushed or displaced need immediate surgery. The femur is the strongest and longest bone in our body. In this surgery, your surgeon will make a cut to the skin to align your broken bone. Jan 22, 2020 to repair your fracture, the surgeon will join the segments of your broken femur using a special metal rod that is inserted into the bone s inner cavity. Generally, femoral fractures cause acute, nonweight bearing lameness of the affected hind leg. Motor vehicle collisions, for example, are the number one cause of femur fractures.
The femur is a very large, strong bone that is difficult to break. A break in this bone can only result from a large amount of force, such as a car accident or a fall from. Femur fractures often occur due to blunt force trauma to the shaft of the femur or a twisting force on the femur. These fractures are usually the result of major trauma, but they can be caused by disease of the bone itself. Generally the recovery time for a broken bone is 4 to 6 weeks, depending on the circumstances of the injury. The two broken ends of the bone dont line up and require repositioning before theyre set in place. The surgeon may also put a plate next to your bone that is attached by screws. As the femur is a very strong bone, it takes a lot of force to fracture or break it. A supracondylar femur fracture, also called a distal femur, is a break in the bone that occurs just above the knee joint. Risk increases because bones tend to weaken with age osteoporosis. The head forms a ballandsocket joint with the hip at the acetabulum, being held in place by a ligament within the socket and by strong surrounding ligaments. The human femur can resist forces of 1,800 to 2,500 pounds, so it is not easily fractured. Your thighbone femur is the longest and strongest bone in your body.
Femur shaft fractures broken thighbone orthoinfo aaos. A femur fracture is when a portion of the femur breaks. In the most common surgery to repair a femur fracture, the surgeon inserts a rod or large nail into the center of the bone. The break may be just a bend or small crack in the bone, or the bone may break into pieces or shatter. In adolescents, motor vehicle accidents either in cars, bicycles, or as a pedestrian are responsible for the vast majority of femoral shaft fractures. Because the femur bone is so crucial to walking and moving through your daily life, breaking it is often quite demoralizing. This injury requires traction by trained medical personnel. In my case, he found the bone was soft for some reason and although he proceeded very gently, the crack still happened. Your child has a break fracture in his or her thighbone femur. Xrays of your pelvis, hip, and femur bones will show your doctor how complex the fracture is. A hip fracture is a break in the top quarter of the thighbone, which is also called the femur. I verbalize this and was told by my family that the femur was in such poor condition it cracked during my surgery. Find out who is at risk for a fractured bone and how to tell if you have one. Smaller, simpler fractures of the femur do not typically require surgery.
The distal femur is the area of the leg just above the knee joint. I had an xray yesterday and there is still no signs of healing. Generally, children require one week for each year of their age to heal the broken bone, up to a maximum of 12 weeks. Post surgery xray showed another crack on the other side as well. I fractured my femur in 1976 at 17 and had a steel rod placed in it. In addition, you may feel faint, dizzy or sick as a result of the shock of breaking a bone.
The thighbone is a very large bone, so it takes a lot of force to break it. With age may come wisdom and, all too frequently, a fall. Femoral fractures in conjunction with total hip replacement. I wouldnt advise anyone to take any of these medicines. Mar 27, 2020 a hip fracture is a serious injury, with complications that can be lifethreatening. Most of the symptoms of this fracture are located in the area of the fracture in the thigh bone. In about half of all cases, a partial or complete hip replacement is needed. Fractures of the distal femur occur most frequently either as highenergy injuries in young men or lowenergy. A broken femur can be an extremely painful and inconvenient occurrence. The centers for disease control and prevention estimates that there are 27,000 fall deaths in older adults each year.
Aug 27, 2010 have a discussion with your dr about taking a zometa break pun intended. I took a bone density test and they found nothing abnormal about my results. A thighbone fracture is a break or crack in the bone of your upper leg. Imagine if someone chopped your femur bone in half by neatly striking it from the side at a right angle. The femur is a strong bone and is very hard to break. It takes about six weeks for bone to heal, and because youve had surgery the healing time might be even longer. Some strength tests show the temporal bone in the skull to be the strongest bone.
Most fractures take 1012 weeks for healing, and the muscle strength and mobility can take much longer. The femur bone is the strongest and longest bone in the body, occupying the space of the lower limb, between the hip and knee joints. Your medial collateral ligament or mcl is located along the inside of your femur thigh bone. Top 5 reasons why you should never take osteoporosis drugs. Broken femur due to metastasis advanced breast cancer inspire. A broken bone or fracture is a medical condition characterized by a break in the continuity of the bone. Answers from doctors on what is the average healing time for broken femur.
Internal fixation is the choice surgery done to treat a broken femur. Im following orders, keeping most weight off leg almost all the time. Hip fractures are cracks or breaks in the top of the thigh bone femur close to the. Distal femur fractures most often occur either in older people whose bones are weak, or in younger people who have high energy injuries, such as from a car crash. It can be a lifethreatening injury if it is associated with severe blood loss or a multisystem injury. Theyre usually caused by a fall or an injury to the side of the hip, but may occasionally be caused by a health condition, such as cancer that weakens the hip bone. The distal femur is where the bone flares out like an upsidedown funnel. So a femur fracture is often the result of great force during severe trauma such as a car accident, bad fall, or serious sports injury. Fracture after total hip replacement orthoinfo aaos. In humans the neck of the femur connects the shaft and head at a 125 degree angle, which is efficient for walking.
Jul 31, 2018 the femur, your thigh bone, is the largest and strongest bone in your body. If the break is small or its just a crack, you may not feel much pain or even realise that you have broken a bone. What to know about surgery for hip fractures webmd. There are different types of fractures and symptoms include pain, swelling, and discoloration of the skin around the injured area. A bruised mcl will cause pain and tenderness along the inside of your knee. Instead, the resulting injury is typically ankle, tibia, fibula or knee. For me many drs thought i had bone mets but really it was the zometa causing havoc. A motor vehicle accident, a fall from a piece of playground equipment, or even a piece of furniture at home may result in a broken leg that can range in severity from a simple hairline crack to a complex injury that also involves damage to surrounding soft tissues. Your surgeon replaces your upper femur your thighbone and the socket in your pelvic bone with prostheses. I did have a hairline fracture of my femur, and that is healing also. The femur is the longest and, by some measures, the strongest bone in the human body. What is femoral shaft fracturetypescausestreatment. Because the femur is such a strong bone, a broken femur excluding hip fractures is rare.
Some of the cases where a person can incur a femoral shaft fracture are automobile accidents, which are one of the major causes of femoral shaft fracture. How to treat a femur fracture and other things you need to know. It also helps your body take in and use calcium, another key. Only found this out when i refused to take it anymore, that was over a year ago, and supposed bone mets are almost gone. The long, straight part of the femur is called the femoral shaft. Breaking your femur can make daily tasks more difficult because its one. Multiple medications, poor vision and balance problems also make older people more likely to fall one of the most common causes of hip fracture. Fractures of the diaphysis, or middle of the femur, are managed differently from those at the head, neck, and trochanter see hip fractures. Femoral fractures are among the most common major injuries that an orthopedic surgeon will be required to treat. Treatment goals include achieving proper realignment of the bone, promoting rapid healing, and returning the patient to normal activities. Hip fractures are actually a break in the femur bone, right below the joint that connects the upper portion of the femur to the pelvis. I am still not my old self, walking is very painful, i do not have strength in my legs.
Dec 01, 2018 the femur is the longest bone in the human body. Sometimes, fixation devices are attached to a frame outside your leg. How to treat a femur fracture broken thigh bone verywell health. How long does it take for a fractured femur to heal. Typically, people get close to their full recovery within 6 months of the injury, but it can take up to a full year to achieve as much improvement as possible. What is the average healing time for broken femur what.
Fractures of the distal femur occur most frequently either as highenergy injuries in young men or lowenergy fractures in elderly women. The femur is the longest and strongest bone in the human body. The medial half is smaller and of a more circular shape. You may have had surgery called an open reduction internal fixation. It takes an extremely strong force to break a femur. Behaviour of human femur bone under bending and impact. In some cases, a computed tomography ct scan will also be obtained. The duration for femur healing is much shorter as they have good healing capacity. Broken femur types, causes, treatment, recovery time. This is a serious injury that is usually diagnosed by a physician. Fractured leg symptoms may not be as obvious as you might think. More than half the fractures seen in older people are hip fractures source.
In this type of surgery, a cut is made to open the fracture, then internal fixator or special metal devices are used to hold the bone in place. One out of every three people over 65 falls every year in the u. Because the femur is so strong, it usually takes a lot of force to break it. This depends on the type of measurement taken to calculate strength. Surgery for a broken femur can last up to three or four hours. A normal hammer one that is used for nails will not suffice for breaking relatively strong bones, such as the leg bones. A femoral fracture is a bone fracture that involves the femur. It typically takes 34 months in adults for femur shaft fracture to consolidate. This rod will stabilize and reinforce the fracture site, allowing the femur to heal quickly and firmly.
Your child may have already been seen in an emergency room for initial treatment for the fracture. I bought a pork knuckle, and attempted to break the bone with a hammer 600g head, and it resisted 5 minutes of straight hammering, despite the fact that the surface was significantly dented, and many bone fragments were scattered about the room. A broken femur is usually caused by a severe accident. How long does it take to recover from a broken femur. The femur, or thigh bone, is the largest and strongest bone in the human body. Jun 25, 2009 hi dr mark, i fractured my femur 10 months ago and had a rod inserted the day after it happened. The femur is one of the long bones of lower leg, important for bearing the body weight. They do a pretty good job of it all on their own if given half a chance. Despite the size and strength of the femur the bone in the thigh, fractures in childhood are not uncommon. Surgeon visited me at recovery the nurses said i must be some celebrity because that never happens. Most hip fractures in people with normal bone are the result of highenergy trauma such as car accidents, falling from heights, or sports injuries. These images can show the quality of the bone, how many pieces of broken bone there are, as well as the extent of displacement gaps between broken pieces.
This type of fracture is an even, perpendicular break to the bone. It runs from the knee to the hip socket, ending at the top with the ball portion of your hip joint, and is sometimes called the thigh bone. Sport injuries, car accidents and falls are the most likely causes of a broken femur. A femur fracture is a crack, break or crush injury to the thigh bone. Fractures of the femur thigh bone are some of the most common fractures seen in dogs. When you have a fracture, your body needs it to build new bone for the repair. The thighbone femur is the largest and strongest bone in the body. Evaluation of femur fractures using clinical data is confounded by multiple patient and fracture specific factors making it difficult to draw meaningful conclusions, despite the inclusion of. It didnt heal at all and 15 months later i had a bone graft to stimulate bone growth, which worked. As long as there is still a fracture to be repaired, there will be pain. Once healing is complete, the metal rod may be removed or left in place. Mortality after distal femur fractures in elderly patients.
The following steps will help you during the recovery process. When your child has a femur fracture fairview health services. In elderly patients, distal femur fractures are the second most frequent fragility fractures of the femur following those of the hip 1, 35, 36, and these patients are at elevated risk for complications, given the high prevalence of medical. Thighbone femur fractures in children orthoinfo aaos. When a long bone breaks along its length similar to snapping a pencil in half. A femur fracture is a break, crack, or crush injury of the thigh bone. How bad is a broken femur and what is the normal recovery time. Hip fractures are cracks or breaks in the top of the thigh bone femur close to the hip joint.
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