Car Accident Fractures: Treatment for Broken Bones
At Pro-Care, our team of specialists and experts offer world-class medical care for broken bones and fractures from a car accident.
Assessing Fractures
A car accident fracture is more commonly known as a broken bone. In fact, broken bones are some of the most common of all car accident injuries. When you get into a car accident, your body undergoes a lot of pressure and stress. The force of impact might even cause you to jolt and jostle around, putting your limbs at greater risk for injury. Whether or not you were wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident can also play a role in the injuries you sustain and their severity. A car accident doctor can evaluate you for any car accident injuries, including broken bones, and provide you with the necessary treatment options.
If you experience intense pain along with swelling, bruising, and limited mobility after a car accident, you might be dealing with a fracture. The type and severity of your broken bone will depend on what treatment options will work best for you. First, your car accident doctor will diagnose your broken bone with a combination of a physical examination and diagnostic imaging tools. Most broken bones will be visible on an X-ray, which provides your doctor with a detailed image of the injured area. Your doctor will also look for visible signs of a broken bone, like a limb or joint that looks out of place or misshapen.
Once your car accident doctor has located the fracture and determined its type and severity, they will talk to you about treatment options to relieve your symptoms and allow the bone to heal. Your doctor will know exactly how to treat your car accident fracture so you can experience optimal healing. A broken bone may need to be reset, or you may need to wear a cast to keep the area immobilized while you heal. Some serious fractures may require surgery, after which you can follow up with your car accident doctor for recovery and rehabilitation.
Do You Need To Get Checked For Broken Bones After A Car Accident?
If you experience any pain or discomfort after a car accident, you want to get checked out by a car accident doctor as soon as possible. Even if you don’t have any immediate symptoms, it doesn’t hurt to visit a doctor to confirm a clean bill of health. A general rule of thumb for car accidents is that if your car sustained any kind of damage, it’s likely that your body did, too. Don’t try to wait out a pesky headache or think that stiffness and soreness will go away on its own. Instead, visit a car accident doctor who has the knowledge and skills to diagnose and treat a wide variety of car accident injuries.
While you might assume a broken bone would be pretty obvious, that is not always the case. When you think of a broken bone, you might associate it with a broken arm or wrist that requires a cast. However, other types of broken bones have less obvious symptoms and may require different types of treatment. For example, a hairline fracture refers to a type of injury where the bone suffers a small crack that can have a lasting impact. Some broken bones don’t break all the way through but still require medical attention to ensure the bone heals properly.
Sometimes a car accident fracture will require immediate medical attention from first responders. Call 911 if you or someone you know has severe bleeding, the bone has broken the skin, or if the area below the break feels cold and looks clammy or blue. If you suspect a head, neck, or back injury, do not move and wait for paramedics to arrive. Try not to move yourself or anyone with a hip, pelvis, or upper leg injury to avoid making the injury worse. Not all car accident fractures will be medical emergencies, but they all deserve medical attention.
How We Treat Car Accident Fractures
A fracture can take several weeks or months to heal, depending on the location, type, and severity of the car accident injury. Your car accident doctor will determine the best course of treatment for healing your car accident fracture. The first thing that needs to be done for a broken bone is to realign the fracture. Once the bones are properly realigned, the natural healing process can begin. Sometimes a car accident fracture can be realigned externally by your car accident doctor. This may involve gently manipulating the area to reduce the fracture. In more serious cases, surgery may be necessary to realign the fracture and make sure the bones stay in place.
A car accident fracture will require a period of immobility to support the healing and recovery process. The methods for immobilization also depend on your specific injury. Common types of immobilization for broken bones and car accident fractures include wearing a cast or brace or getting surgery that uses metal plates, screws, or rods to help stabilize the bone. As you heal from a broken bone, the area that stays immobile for a short period of time may require additional treatment and rehabilitation so you can regain your strength and range of motion. Stretches, exercises, and other techniques can help strengthen the muscles and other tissues that support the bone to help you heal and prevent future injury.
Fractured Bone Diagnosis
When you visit a car accident doctor for a broken bone, they will likely want to run diagnostic imaging tests to get a better look at the area. Diagnostic tools include X-rays or CT scans, and they provide doctors with highly detailed images of the injury. Both X-rays and CT scans are very quick tests that are helpful in both emergency and non-emergency situations. Your doctor may also want to run repeated tests at various points during your recovery to confirm the bone is healing properly.
Your doctor will also perform a physical examination of the area to assess for any pain, tenderness, swelling, bruising, and deformity. In many cases, a broken bone can prevent you from engaging in certain movements or motions. They will also want to hear about the accident that led to the fracture and what symptoms you have been experiencing. Make sure to talk to your doctor about any changes in your symptoms and if you have noticed anything that has made your symptoms better or worse.
Treatment & Rehabilitation Options For Fractured Bones
Healing from a car accident fracture is a natural process, and in many cases, you can heal naturally. Treatment for a broken bone after a car accident may involve immobilizing the area to make sure the bone heals in its proper position. A car accident doctor will help you establish the best circumstances for healing so you can experience a full recovery from the fracture.
The treatment and rehabilitation options for a car accident fracture will depend on the location, type, and severity of the injury. At Pro-Care, our car accident doctors offer a wide range of treatment techniques to help you recover from a fracture. From casts and braces to chiropractic care and rehabilitation, we support you through the entire process. Get an accurate diagnosis by one of our car accident doctors and then a personalized treatment plan that addresses your specific symptoms and needs for a full recovery. Our car accident doctors will do our best to support your body’s natural healing process and set you up for success.
After the fracture has healed, your Pro-Care car accident doctor may continue to work with you as you regain muscle strength and mobility that may have been impacted by the injury. We offer a natural and hands-on approach to rehabilitation after a car accident injury like a broken bone so you can get back to your regular routines and activities you enjoy.
