BACKGROUND: Car crashes, falling from a jungle gym and falling down stairs can all cause broken bones or fractures. When too much pressure is placed on the bone, it will split or break. Sometimes the break will be visible or accompanied by bleeding, bruising, or swelling. Intense pain and limited mobility also usually accompany broken bones. It's important to limit mobility and stay calm until medical personnel arrive at the scene. Applying ice may reduce swelling, and sometimes splints can be used to immobilize the broken bone. A break in the bone of any size is called a fracture. An open fracture occurs if the bone punctures the skin. While most fractures occur as the result of trauma, a stress fracture occurs when a hairline crack forms in the bone from repeated or extended forces or pressure on the bone.
(Source: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000001.htm)
TREATMENT: After a bone is fractured, it has to be set in the right place. This process is called reduction. Sometimes the reduction is done without surgery, called a closed reduction, and other times it can be done with surgery, called open reduction. Sometimes, devices must be placed to make sure the bone stays in place. After the bone is set, casts or splints are used to immobilize the bone. Painkillers may also be recommended to reduce pain. After the cast or splint is removed, the area may still be stiff or swollen. Then, it is recommended to gradually begin using the area again. While there may be difficulties at first, such as a noticeable limp, but they should disappear. It may take four to six weeks for the bone to regain strength.
(Source: http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/understanding-fractures-treatment?page=2)
NEW TECHNOLOGY: Now, 3-D printing is helping doctors find new treatments for more serious cases. The first commercial 3-D printer was invented in 1986 by Charles Hull. Now, these printers are finding uses in the medical field. A viral video earlier this year showed Robert Downey Jr. presenting a 3-D-printed mechanical arm to a boy with a partially developed right arm. "I think yours might be better than mine," the Iron Man star quipped. After Ruth Smith-Leigh broke almost every bone in her foot from a car accident, she could look to 3-D-printed bone implants to save her leg. CT scans helped doctors recreate Smith-Leigh's anatomy in the form of a titanium implant that fits into the bone. The bone then grows in and around the implanted device. Only a handful of people have received bone transplants in the U.S.
(Source: http://www.livescience.com/34551-3d-printing.html, http://variety.com/2015/film/news/robert-downey-jr-gifts-bionic-iron-man-arm-to-7-year-old-fan-1201451880/, Samuel B. Adams, MD, Duke University Medical Center)
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT, PLEASE CONTACT:
Sarah Avery
919-660-1306
If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Marjorie Bekaert Thomas at mthomas@ivanhoe.com