Nondisplaced Fracture Treatment | Nondisplaced Bone Surgery

A bone fracture happens when a bone sustains a crack or a break due to a strong, high impact force from the outside, but there are also some fractures that are caused by average but constant impact. These bones need to be taken cared of carefully because they lend support, mobility, and protection to the internal organs. This is why an injured person’s movements would become restricted when a certain bone is fractured.

There are certain ways in which a fracture injury is classified. One of the criteria used in the classification of injuries is whether the broken bone has a nondisplaced or displaced fracture.

What is a nondisplaced fracture?

A nondisplaced fracture happens when the affected bone is not really broken, which means it remains intact. This is opposite the displaced fractures wherein the break in the bone results to a deformity in the bone. Yet, extreme cases of fracture would result to a severely broken bone with a part of it already seen from the open wound after the rugged edges of the broken fragment tore the skin. For all of these types of bone fractures, pain is one of the common sensations among them.

With the nondisaplaced fracture definition now known, its causes should also be discussed. The most usual cause of a fracture, such as nondisplaced fibula fracture, is a strong force that is directed to the bone to the point that it would bend. The bending effect happens because the fractured nondisplaced bone cannot really move and if it will not sustain a break, it will exhibit nothing else but bending. These broken nondisplaced bones are dense enough not to quickly snap as twigs would when they are stepped on.

What are the symptoms of nondisplaced types of fractures?

Pain is the most common of all the fracture symptoms felt by patients with broken bones. These symptoms can help doctors know how to heal the nondisplaced bone fracture, because they can also help tell what type of fracture a patient is suffering from. An undisplaced fracture will not feel as painful as a displaced one because the bone in the former stays in place. However, a crack would be seen, via x-ray, on the injured bone. Another symptom for a nondisplaced bone would be severe swelling. Pain relieving medicines are sometimes prescribed by doctors to help patients fight the pain brought about by the fractures. There are also medications that should be taken to help tone down the swelling. Anti-inflammatory emedicine can be obtained online to make the purchase of the medication more convenient. Instead of venturing out into the road, which is quite difficult for a patient in a cast, buying medications online would be such a good idea for an alternative.

How is a nondisplaced fracture diagnosis done?

In open fractures, it is easy to tell that a fracture has occurred. For instance, an open fractured arm would have a portion of the bone sticking out of the skin. This would need immediate arm fracture treatment to avoid the risk of infection. This would also apply to a severe case of Monteggia fracture, a fracture on the arm. However, x-rays are required to diagnose both non displaced fracture and displaced fracture. In an occult fracture though, more sophisticated imaging tests are necessary to locate the hidden fracture. An occult hip fracture, for instance, would need bone scan, CT scan, and the most sophisticated MRI scan. These imaging tests might not really be necessary with nondisplaced acetabular fracture, but only when the x-ray results would come out negative but symptoms still show that a fracture is present.

How are nondisplaced fractures treated?

The swelling might become worse but before it does so, an ice pack should be applied on top of the fractured area. For instance, a nondisplaced metatarsal fracture would make use of the ice pack or a cold compress. The swelling will intensify every time the metatarsal bones with nondisplaced injury are used. This should be done at least 20 minutes for every application, three times every day on the first two weeks after the injury happened.

Unlike the displaced fracture, no bone resetting needs to be done for the countdown towards the recovery time to start. Thus, a nondisplaced radial fracture, a type of wrist fracture,  no longer have to be reset which will save the patient from a lot of pain. In the case of displaced fractures, only an experienced medical professional should do the resetting. While first aid treatment needs to be applied while other people are still contacting a doctor, no one should attempt to touch a displaced fracture. This should also apply to treating nondisplaced skull fracture wherein the pre-ambulance treatment should only be as good as stopping the bleeding or slowing it down. This is due to how fragile the location of the nondisplaced fractures is.

Resetting is not necessary with an intact nondisplaced bone despite the fracture. A nondisplaced fracture in children will not likely send the parents rushing their children to the surgery room. After the resetting in displaced fractures with the bones perfectly repositioned, a fracture cast has to keep the bones in place. This is just like how a brace or braces can immobilize the bone to let the healing process proceed without any interruption. By continually moving the fractured bone, even a nondisplaced supracondylar fracture, would only prolong the fracture healing time.  The easiest way for the nondisplaced fracture healing time to be over is to immobilize the injured area.

Other classifications of fractures that can also be in nondisplaced forms are:

• Avulsion fracture. This is another closed fracture with a broken bone caused by a quickly impacting forceful contraction, courtesy of the muscle. This usually happens when athletes do not do stretching exercises properly before hurling themselves into long hours of practice. Injury can also cause displaced or nondisplaced avulsion fracture.
• Scaphoid fracture. This is a break on the smallest bone in the wrist. Even when the nondisplaced scaphoid fracture does not need a fracture surgery, a cast still has to be placed on the wrist.
• Finger fracture. This is triggered by a minor trauma on the fingers. This can result to improper alignment on the hand. After treating nondisplaced fracture finger, simple rehabilitation should be done. The rehab process will help reduce swelling and stiffness on the fingers after the casting of the nondisplaced finger fracture.
• Nasal fracture. This is a fracture on the nasal bone, which is found under the upper part of the nose. A displaced or even the nondisplaced nasal fracture is usually signaled by severe nosebleed.
• Oblique fracture. This occurs when the crack of the bone is diagonal to the bone’s axis. A nondisplaced oblique fracture is characterized by maintenance in the alignment of the bone even after the fracture happens.
• Patella fracture. This is type of knee fracture. A nondisplaced patella fracture is treated with the use of a plaster cast. This is just like how a Monteggia fracture is also treated, as long as Monteggia lesion is not really severe.
• Supracondylar fracture. This is fracture that occurs on the lower tip of the humerus bone. A nondisplaced supracondylar fracture is also called a nondisplaced hairline fracture, due to the small crack in the bone. This is also the same name for a navicular stress fracture. This type of navicular fracture is just a small hairline-like crack on the navicular bone.
• Spiral fracture. This happens when a fracture results to a twisted bone. Usually, the twisting will just result to a nondisplaced spiral fracture.
• Rib fracture. This is a break on any of the ribs that will only allow the patient shallow breathing. Even a nondisplaced rib fracture would still be bothersome.
• Olecranon fracture. This is a fracture on the olecranon process that is located on the ulna bone. A nondisplaced fracture of the olecranon also used a cast or splint for three weeks, with the elbow situated at 45 degrees of flexion.
• Tibial plateau fracture. This is a broken tibia or shin bone, usually caused by high speed accidents. A nondisplaced tibial plateau fracture would need a knee brace on the injured leg. Like a nondisplaced tibial fracture, a surgical intervention can be done away with. Casting or splinting an effective way to treat nondisplaced hip fracture.