Speed Up Fracture Healing

Heal Fractures | Tips for Healing Bone Fracture

25 Jul


Healing of fractures can involve different phases. At the first instance the fracture happens, there could be clotting of the blood at the site of the fracture and this is called hematoma. Then when the proper treatment has been made, bone healing will start. Fibrovascular tissues or simply called scar tissues will replace the dead cells. Proteins that are in the bone marrow will continually send signal to the damaged bone cells so that cartilage will then again form. New membranes will be formed around the bone replacing immature bone cells or cartilage until the fracture reattaches again and the bone is healed.

Types of Fracture Healing Methods

There are different methods or types in regards to how fractures can be healed depending on the reaction of your body to the treatment. Your doctor will decide which of these methods will work for you.
• Use of ice and elevation. Ice will help the swelling to decrease thus allowing the fractured part to decompress itself and provide a free flow of blood to the injured part. Elevating the injured part will also keep the blood from forming on the injury.
• Casting. This is required to correct bone deformities that are fractured. Bone traction or bone straightening will be done if you have an incomplete fracture and then your limb will be put in a cast using either plaster of paris or fiberglass.
• Rehabilitation with the use of physical therapy will also help the bone to heal and regain its density while giving the muscles the strength and the limb to function again.
• Medications. There are medications that the doctors can provide to help the bones heal faster and some of these medications are also fortified with calcium and vitamin D to help the bones become stronger.
• Exercise. Bone tissues can respond better to treatment when the muscles are conditioned so exercise can be recommended to enhance proper blood circulation.


Diagnosing a healing fracture is not easy since the process takes place inside. However, doctors have a way of determining if the fracture is already on its healing stage by the age of the fracture, the condition of the bones (through x-rays or CT scans) and how the injured part can be able to respond and have its sensations. After the cast is removed, this does not mean the healing is complete so rehabilitation comes next. This is always part of the healing process. Strength and pressure diagnosis will be conducted to test if the bones are regaining their strength.

There would never be the need to heal fractures if only we can totally eliminate the causes of bone fractures but that is totally impossible. Bone fractures are often the result of our carelessness, illogical use of our bodies to do something it cannot handle well and putting unnecessary strain that also put our bones to stress. Although we can say that accidents and falls cannot really be avoided, it is still best to minimize causes of fractures if we can only be very cautious in everything that we do and wear protection when doing sports.


There are five symptoms doctors can be able to see the healing process of the bones and these are on phases.
• Inflammatory phase. This is the formation of haematoma or blood clotting in the in the fractured region. The blood clot is necessary because the body is protecting the wound with its antibodies that are in the blood.
• Granulation tissue formation. When blood clots with macrophages are already on the fractured bone, granulation of tissue will begin.
• Callus formation. This is the phase when cartilage will be forming and covering the broken bone.
• Lamellar bone deposition. The cartilage that has formed on the broken bone will be replaced by the deposition of calcium.
• Remodelling. The woven bone will now remodeled itself back to its original bone structure and this is the final stage of the bone healing process
Fracture Healing Time, How to heal a fracture, healing process and treatment:

To heal fractures properly, the broken bone must be put first in their proper alignment. As part of the treatment process, there must be the immobilization of the injured area by the use of cast or splint. For bones that are severely dislocated or fragmented, surgery may be needed and then immobilized again to make the bone heal without moving it.

Medications are always part of healing fractures because infection may set in anytime especially when the body reacts to the metal wires that are inserted to your bones. Antibiotics and pain relievers are just part of the procedure during the healing of the fractured bones. Therapy is also part of the healing process because without the strengthening exercises the bones cannot regain their original form.

There are now nutritional steps to heal fractures quickly and in some ways these can also prevent future fractures. What the person needs is getting adequate energy because this can really accelerate healing. For one, protein intake can be beneficial to the bones because proteins are the building blocks of our bodies and half of the compositions of our bones are made up of protein. You must also give importance to other minerals that can contribute to the skeletal integrity of your bones and good examples are amino acids which contain lysine, praline, glycine, arginine, cystine and glutamine. All of these are known to enhance calcium absorption and helps in the regeneration of bone tissues during the healing process of fractured bones. You must not forget also the major minerals the bones really require such as calcium, copper, zinc and Vitamin D.

When to Call A Doctor

When your fractured bone is under the healing process, complications may also occur which must prompt you to see your doctor immediately. Such occurrence involve damaging the cast due to improper care, showing up of sores or redness on the wound, the nails or skin or toes below the plaster gets discolored, fingers and skin are getting numb and swelling suddenly occurs. If any of these happens, visit your doctor as soon as possible because there could already be infection inside the wound or on the fracture itself.

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