The location of the hairline fracture.Smaller bones such as fingers and toes will heal faster than larger ones. It really depends on several factors, including: Many patients assume that a hairline fracture will heal faster, but this is not always the case. You can have stress fractures that are not visible, barely visible like a hairline fracture pattern, or a displaced fracture where the bones have separated. The overuse causes the bone to break down over time, rather than all at once. The severity of stress fractures varies greatly. It is not a specific type of fracture that is seen on an X-ray.Ī stress fracture occurs when there is repetitive use of a bone. The term stress fracture is used to describe how an injury occurred. Snyder. “This situation occurs more frequently for non-weight-bearing bones such as the finger or wrist.” This is both surprising for patients and problematic because it can cause someone to delay treatment for a few days,” explains Dr. “These symptoms may be less severe when the fracture is non-displaced. May have difficulty moving the body part.The typical symptoms a patient may experience directly after an injury include: People who have conditions like osteoporosis that cause low bone density are at a greater risk of developing a fracture. Snyder. “This is an important distinction from a microfracture or bone bruise where only the inside, spongy portion of the bone has been injured.”Īnyone is susceptible to a bone injury including children, adults, and the elderly. The term hairline fracture is a way to describe a non-displaced bone fracture that is barely visible on an X-ray. “I use the term hairline fracture if I can see an actual fracture line on X-ray, but it is very faint or mild,” explains Dr. Displaced fractures may need to be set or surgically corrected. A displaced fracture means that the bones have moved out of place. First, they can be either displaced or non-displaced. If your doctor does not see any cracks, splits, or fine lines in your bone then they will conclude that there is not a break.įractures are further categorized. “A patient may feel alarmed when they hear the word broken and are not given more information, but there is much more that they should understand about their bone injury.”Ī fracture means there has been change to the configuration of the bone that can be seen on an X-ray. Fracture is simply a more scientific term,” says Ronald Snyder, MD, pediatric orthopedist and sports medicine specialist at Summit Health. “The words broken and fractured basically mean the same thing. These are words your doctor may use to describe a bone injury. If you have ever had an X-ray at your local urgent care or orthopedists’ office, you may have heard the medical terms: hairline or stress fracture. Most of us will end up breaking two bones in our lifetime.
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