How Can I Tell If I Broke A Bone

How can I tell if my bone is broken or sprained?

I presume if you’re asking this question it isn’t obvious which generally means an ankle injury - though similar principle apply to other areas that can be “sprained”.The best answer really is that if it isn’t obvious then it doesn’t matter that much. The treatment for an ankle injury is pretty much the same either way. It is based on the clinical grade (i.e. Findings from examination and the history you provide).If you really need to know then having an x-ray or even an ultrasound scan might clarify it though an MRI is best. This might help your doctor/physiotherapist optimize treatment and give you a better idea of outcome though probably won’t change much as treatment/rehab is mostly based on clinical findings and progress (note I’m a Radiologist so am not anti-imaging - I just prefer it be used judiciously!).Generally treatment involves initially protecting the joint by supporting (the degree of support from casting to rigid brace to strapping/soft brace depends on the clinical degree of instability. As pain-free use returns the degree of support is reduced and the mobility/strengthening exercises are increased. Overall timeframe to get back to full activity varies depending on the grade of injury but is typically 1–3 weeks for grade I, 3–6 weeks for grade II and 6–8 weeks for grade III. Occasionally surgery will be required when all conservative treatment fails though delaying this is not a problem and is rarely ever the best first treatment choice.You do need expert input into this. If you try to immobilize for a period and then return straight to full activity you’ll almost certainly re-injure it.Once you’ve returned to full activity then strategies to avoid re-injury are critical - strengthening, stretching, balance exercises, perhaps routine strapping during high-risk activities.

How can you tell if your leg is broken?

Usually you can’t, unless bone pieces are sticking out of a wound, the limb is deformed, or you can’t bear any weight on it. See a doc!When our children were small, they, growing in The Netherlands, rode their bikes all over the neighbourhood, and often fell off their bikes. So, after me examining them and sometimes deciding to have an X-ray made at our own ED, our daughter ask me what doc were looking for when looking for a broken bone.These are still the symptoms - I was taught during the sixties in med school - we look for:-localised spontaneous pain-pain on axial pressure-functio laesa: not functioning (usually not being able to stand on the leg, or move the limb properly)-abnormal look so these I told her.I ommitted the more ominous signs like:-crepitation: the grating sound of broken bone fragments rubbing against one another (have never heard it in my life)-bone pieces sticking out of an open woundSo afterwards, when she fell, I usually at work so not available, she would examine herself after having fallen, and then triumphantly tell her Mom that she hadn’t broken anything so not to worry. She later went on to become a MD PhD, but have since left medicine, starting a second career in ICT trying to bridge the chasm between clinicians and ICT.

How do I know if I broke my ankle bone?

The Ottawa Ankle Rule was developed in a hospital in…some Canadian city, the name escapes me.It was developed for emergency hospital triage, in order to differentiate sprains from fractures would require diagnostic imaging, orthopedic stabilization, or even orthopedic surgery, as a means of reducing the burden on healthcare resources, if I remember correctly (I forgot to pay my google bill this month).It’s a popular method for differentiating between ankle/foot fractures and strains, especially when healthcare resources are strained (Gaza, holla!) and in pre-hospital care. If a fall onto the heel was the mechanism of injury, Modor’s sign, not to be confused the Eye of Sauron, is a telltale sign for pre-diagnosis of a suspected calcaneus fracture. It presents as a bruising discoloration on the arch of the sole of the foot that indicates a fracture of the heel bone (calcaneus). This is a common injury when landing from a height flat on your feet. It’s not technically an ankle injury, but can potentially present as one, and can still be ‘reasonably’ pre-diagnosed using the Ottawa Ankle Rule technique, due to the fact that it is usually too painful to walk more than five steps unaided. Other than that, the Ottawa thing doesn’t include much else for calcaneal fractures, so I would tack that on, personally.The Ottawa Ankle Rule is an awesome tool for pre-hospital care for outdoorsy types that need to decide it hiking out on a tape boot is advisable over a professional rescue, and is simple enough for the layperson to use on site.Definitive diagnosis of a fracture to the bones of the foot, ankle, and tibia/fibula require x-ray imaging, at a minimum, and can be greatly complicated by attempting to bear weight on the affected area.Cheers.

How do you know if a broken collarbone is healing?

If you follow your MD's instructions (not moving your shoulder too much, staying away from alcohol etc.), you are most probably on track. An X-ray can show whether there is any calcification where broken parts touch.In my case (male, late 20s, broken and displaced clavicle on the outer end, figure 8 brace immobilization), it took 7-8 weeks. For weeks after the injury, I felt the two parts of the bone move if I moved my shoulder and there was no improvement as far as I could tell. After about 4 weeks, the movements were not so apparent, but I was disappointed when the movements returned after the 5th. Anyhow, after the 6th the bone was more or less immobile and after the 8th, I was out for my first run after the injury.