Fracture Care Specialists
At Valley Orthopaedic Specialists (VOS), our providers treat fractures of varying degrees and locations in patients of every age. Our CT orthopaedic doctors use a state-of-the-art digital X-ray system that’s able to diagnose fractures quickly, allowing treatment to begin immediately.
To reduce radiation exposure for patients, and for added convenience, our providers can access images from multiple outside facilities, such as Diagnosis Imaging of Southbury, Griffin Hospital, Naugatuck Valley Radiology Associations, Advanced Radiology, and more. After fracture diagnosis, one of our trained providers will offer fracture care in the form of a cast, brace, or splint.
Different Types of Fractures
Fractures are complete or partial breaks in your bone, and when you have a fracture, it’s classified as a closed or open fracture. Closed fractures, known as simple fractures, occur when the bone is broken but your skin stays intact. Open or compound fractures occur when the bone breaks through the skin, or a wound exposes the bone.
Some of the different types of fractures treated by our fracture care specialists include:
- Transverse Fracture – A straight line break that’s perpendicular to your bone.
- Comminuted Fracture – A break that’s in three or more pieces with fragments present.
- Greenstick Fracture – An incomplete fracture, with one part of the bone broken and the other side bending (most common in kids).
- Segmental – A bone is fractured in two different places, resulting in a segment of bone that’s floating.
- Spiral Fracture – A break that spirals around the bone, more common in twisting injuries.
- Compression Fracture – A crushed bone that makes the bone seem flatter or wider in its appearance.
- Oblique Fracture – A diagonal break across the bone.
Causes and Symptoms of Fractures
Fractures take place if there’s more force applied to your bone than it’s able to absorb. For example, falls, trauma, or blows can result in breaks. Bone disease may also make individuals more likely to experience fractures since this condition results in low bone mass and the deterioration of bone structure.
While everyone experiences the symptoms of fractures differently, the most common symptoms of a fracture include:
- Swelling around the area that’s injured
- Severe pain in the injured area
- Redness, warmth, or bruising around the area that’s injured
- Problems moving or using the area that’s been injured
- Deformity to the area injured
If you display these symptoms, it’s important to get prompt fracture care.
Fracture Care – Treatment Options
Our CT orthopaedic doctors will determine the best treatment for your fracture based on its location, the type of fracture, your overall health, and the expectations for recovery. The goal is to promote healing while controlling your pain and helping you get back to normal use of the area.
Potential treatment options may include:
- Cast or Splint – This keeps the area immobilized to promote healing and bone alignment and to protect the area from use or motion during healing.
- Traction – This option uses force to stretch areas of the body in a specific direction and may be used to stretch the tendons and muscles around a break to allow the ends of the bone to align and then heal.
- Medications – May be used to help control the pain after a fracture.
- Surgery – Our physicians at Valley Orthopaedic Specialists may discover that surgery is needed to put bones back in place. In some cases, using metal pins or rods or even external fixation devices may be needed to help hold bone fragments in place for proper alignment and healing.
At Valley Orthopaedic Specialists, our CT orthopaedic doctors offer the best in fracture care. If you’ve sustained a fracture, contact us today to schedule an appointment, and we’ll work with you to treat your fracture and help you return to normal function.