When a Bone Breaks

Fractures are no joke. They hurt, and take a long time to heal, which puts a damper on your regular day to day activities. The bone healing process may seem complicated when you apply all of the medical terminology. However, you can narrow down the concept of bone healing into three stages. According to The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), fracture healing occurs in three overlapping stages: the inflammatory stage, the repair stage, and the remodeling stage. According to the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS), bones health the same way, whether they have been fractured, or cut due to surgical procedure.

Bone healing is a unique process, according to The Merck Manual, an online medical library. When soft tissues become injured, scar tissue forms to mend it, and often changes the appearance and function of the tissue. However, bone is unique because it heals with its own tissue: bone. This allows even shattered bone fragments to restore to its normal function.

A medical professional should determine whether or not your injury is indeed a fracture. According to The Merck Manual, a fracture is a break in a bone. It can vary in size and severity, and the most common cause is trauma. The most obvious symptom is pain, accompanied by the first stage of bone healing: inflammation.

During the inflammatory stage, the immune system removes damaged tissue, blood, and bone fragments from the fracture site, according to The Merck Manual. Swelling and tenderness occur in the surrounding area due to the increase in cell activity and blood flow in the surrounding area. This stage lasts for a few days, according to the AANS, and is the most critical stage of bone healing. Also, during this stage, inflammatory cells are forming new tissues. The AANS advices against taking anti-inflammatory medications during the first week of bone healing, because it could inhibit the healing process. According to The Merck Manual, acetaminophen is the recommended drug of choice for pain relief.

The repair stage, which can last months, begins when clotted blood is replaced by fibrous tissue and cartilage, or soft callus, according to ACFAS. Soft callus, also referred to as external callus by The Merck Manual, has no calcium, and is rubbery in texture. In fact, it's not even visible in x-rays. During this stage the bone is weak for the first four to six weeks of formation, and could collapse or slip out of place. Therefore, it is important to stabilize the bone with a brace, splint or cast. Bone becomes stiffer at three to six weeks, therefore stronger and visible on x-rays, according to The Merck Manual.

The remodeling stage is the final stage that completes the bone healing process. According to AANS, the bone is restored to its original shape, structure and strength, a slow process that can take several months to years. During remodeling, hard bone replaces external callus, according to The Merck Manual, and is unlikely to fracture again during this stage. Weight-bearing, such as standing or walking, encourages bone remodeling once the bone is healed, according to the ACFAS.

Healing rates vary from person to person. However, according to The Merck Manual, children's fractures heal much more quickly than adult's fractures, and appear almost normal on x-rays several years after the fracture. In addition to age, other factors that affect rate of healing are diabetes, smoking, and malnutrition.