What is a leg fracture?

A leg fracture is a break or crack in one of the leg bones. Types of fractures include the following:

• Complete: the broken bone is completely broken.

• Comminuted: there are more than 2 bone fragments at the fracture.

• Compound (open): one end of the broken bone has broken through the skin.

• Closed: neither end of the broken bone has pierced the skin.

• Compression: the bone has broken due to extreme pressure.

• Impacted: the ends of the broken bone are driven into each other.

• Avulsion: the muscle has pulled a portion of the bone away from where it was originally attached.

• Pathological: the bone has been weakened or destroyed by disease so that the already weakened bone breaks easily.

• Stress: a hairline crack in a bone from repeated trauma or stress.

How does it occur?

Leg fractures can occur in many ways: falls, contact sports and exercise injuries, force from a blow, and trauma.

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms of a leg fracture include:

• pain

• tenderness

• swelling

• limited range of motion

• pain made worse by movement

• grating of bone ends

• muscle spasm during slight movement

• inability to walk

• physical deformity.

How is it diagnosed?

To diagnose a leg fracture, the doctor will review your injury and symptoms. The doctor will examine your foot to see if vessels or nerves are damaged. The doctor may also examine your knee because some injuries to the foot, ankle, and leg may involve injuries to the knee. The doctor will order x-rays.

How is it treated?

If there is an open wound over the site of the leg fracture, you may need surgery. The doctor will cleanse the wound and cover it with a sterile dressing. He or she will give you a tetanus shot if indicated and an antibiotic drug for several days.

The doctor will position the fractured bones properly. Sometimes this requires surgery. He or she may immobilize your leg by setting it in a fiberglass or plaster splint.

The doctor will suggest you use crutches or a cane and begin to walk at the appropriate time because activity promotes healing.

You will learn how to care for your cast:

• how to elevate it on pillows

• how to bathe with a cast

• how to use crutches or a cane

• how to care for the skin around the cast edges.

Immobilization of a body part can cause joints to stiffen and muscles to weaken in uninjured areas. You will learn simple range-of-motion exercises to keep the uninjured parts healthy. You will also learn isometric exercises to strengthen the injured part. Isometric exercises avoid movement. You create tension by contracting the muscle, holding the tension, and then releasing it without moving the joint.

How long will the effects last?

The time needed to heal depends on the kind of fracture, its location, the type of treatment, and how well you heal.

How can I take care of myself?

To help take care of yourself, follow the full course of treatment your doctor prescribes. Also, follow these guidelines:

• Eat a variety of nutritious foods.

• Get plenty of rest.

• Elevate the leg when possible to reduce swelling.

Call the doctor immediately if any of these symptoms appear:

• unsusal warmth, redness, or swelling above or below the fracture

• discoloration: your toenails or feet become and stay blue or grey even though you are keeping your leg elevated

• numbness or complete loss of feeling in the skin below the fracture

• increasing pain not relieved by pain pills.

These symptoms indicate damage to the nerves and blood vessels.

What can be done to help prevent leg fracture?

To prevent a leg fracture, follow these guidelines:

• Wear the proper, correctly fitting shoes when you exercise.

• Gently stretch before and after physical activities such as aerobics, running, and sports.

• Work and play safely.

• Call your doctor if you usually develop leg pain during or after physical activity.