FRACTURED BONES

Problem. How does the body heal fracitured bones ? How well do broken bones heal themselves?

Background. Did you know that your bones are as alive as your skin or any other tissue in your body? Most people think that the bones in the skeleton are made of dead material. A close look would reveal some different information, however. Your bones grow rapidly during your first sixteen to eighteen years. Then they harden to form your adult skeleton. The marrow within some bones forms essential parts of your blood. Broken bones heal so completely that it is difficult to find the healed fracture. This evidence certainly points to the conclusion that bones are alive, in spite of their hardness.

Late in the seventeenth century an English physician, Dr. Clopton Havers, discovered that there are thousands of tiny canals lacing the bones. These canals, called Haversian canals after their discoverer, carry the blood vessels and nerves to the interior of the bones.

Around each canal is a group of cells called osteocytes. These cells form much of the living matter in the bones. One kind of osteocyte, an osteoblast, deposits the minerals that make up bones. This hard mineral content forms about 45 per cent of the weight of the skeleton. The other kind of osteocyte, the osteoclast, dissolves the hard calcium and other minerals in the bones. This dissolving

Explanation. When a bone breaks, whether it has split, broken into many pieces, or only cracked, there is apt to be damage to the blood vessels and nerves in the bone as well as to the bony substance itself. The repair of the break necessitates a repair of these vessels and nerves as well as a new deposit of calcium mixture at the site of the break.

As soon as the bone fragments are set so that they are close to each other, the osteocytes in the area begin to repair the break. The blood vessels grow back and help to carry away the debris dissolved by the osteoclasts. The osteoblasts deposit new calcium between the bones to cement them together. The osteoclasts dissolve away the rough edges and "polish up" the job. Finally, the break is so completely healed that it is not easily distinguished from the original bone.

First Aid for Broken Bones

Preventing broken bones. Many accidents that cause broken bones occur in the home, on the playing field, and on the highway. Falls account for many accidental fractures in the home and on the playing field. Walking, automobile, and bicycle accidents account for many fractures on the highway.

You can prevent those kinds of accidents if you observe some safety rules for the home, the highway, and the playing field. When you are walking or riding along a roadway, you should observe the rules of the road. Walkers should walk on the left side of the highway. Bicycle riders should ride on the right side of the road.

Automobile drivers are never sure whether a bicycle rider will swerve out into traffic. For this reason you should be careful to ride close to the edge of the road. You should never swerve out into the roadway without giving the proper hand signal and looking both ways. Observing these highway rules can prevent an accident that could break your arm or leg and possibly cause even more severe injuries.

When you play sports such as hockey, basketball, baseball, and football, you should be careful to wear the proper clothing and use the proper equipment. If you wear the wrong kind of shoes or forget essential protective equipment, you could receive painful cuts or broken bones. It is also important that you play these rough sports in a supervised area. In that way, there will always be an adult nearby if an accident should occur.

The home may be the greatest "bone breaker" of all. Because everyone spends so much time at home, everyone has a great opportunity for severe falls. Older people in particular are likely to receive broken bones from falls in the home. An older person’s bones are brittle and break easily. He has to be particularly careful of the high hazard areas of the home.

The danger of falls may be greatly increased by loose stair treads, small rugs that are not fastened down, objects left on stairs, upturned carpet edges, and highly polished wood or tile floors. You can see that the cellar stairs, the kitchen, and hallways with small rugs would be high hazard areas for falls. If you can eliminate these hazards, you will be helping to prevent accidents that can cause broken bones.

Finding a fracture. More serious than a strain or a sprain is a fractured bone. It is not always easy to see whether an accident victim has a fracture. Sometimes a person may mistake a sprain for a break, and at other times he may not be able to feel any break at all. If he is unconscious, it may be very hard to find a fractured bone even though it might be a serious fracture.

Sometimes a victim will feel a bone break or recognize a fracture because he is unable to move a limb properly. In other cases, you must check for swelling, tenderness, an unnatural shape or position of a body part, or pain on motion. If the results of your investigation indicate that a bone may be broken, you should apply first-aid measures. No harm can be done by treating the victim if there is no break, and great harm may occur if you leave a fracture untreated.

Treatment of a fracture. Whether the break is a simple fracture or a compound fracture, the first-aid treatment is the same: keep the injured part of the body immobile. It is best to accomplish this without moving the victim., He should be made comfortable and warm, and kept cheerful until a doctor can be summoned.

If the victim is in immediate danger, or must be moved to a place where he can be given medical attention, other steps may be necessary. In this event, the broken part should be splinted with some stiffening device such as boards, rolled newspaper, cardboard, or sticks. These should be padded to prevent injury and additional pain. The illustrations on page 47 show some methods of applying splints.

In any case of a broken bone, you should not attempt to set the bone yourself. Only a doctor has the skill necessary to give proper treatment. In the case of a compound fracture, do not attempt to push the exposed bones back into the flesh. Cover the break with a sterile bandage or pad and let the doctor give the proper treatment.

Complications. In any case involving broken bones, there may be complications. You will remember from your study of general first-aid rules that shock is usually present in an accident of this sort. Severe bleeding, internal injuries, and sprains may be other complications. If you remember to keep calm and look for all injuries that require treatment, you will be able to give excellent first aid.