What is the accepted treatment for a femur or thigh fracture?

If you fracture your femur, you usually need ORIF to bring your bones back into place and help them heal. During an open reduction, orthopedic surgeons reposition your bone pieces during surgery, so that they are back in their proper alignment.

What happens when an elderly person breaks their femur?

Complications can arise with femur breaks. Proper setting. If the femur is not set properly, there’s a chance the leg will become shorter than the other one and may cause hip or knee pain many years later. Poor alignment of the femur bone may also be painful.

What part of the femur is most commonly fractured?

Femoral head fractures are extremely rare and are usually the result of a high-velocity event. The areas of the femur (thighbone). Most hip fractures occur in the femoral neck or intertrochanteric area.

What is the pathophysiology of a femur fracture?

The characteristic deformity following a femur fracture is caused by the strong lower extremity muscles which are attached to the femur. The proximal fragment is held in flexion and abduction. The iliopsoas, which attaches at the lesser trochanter, provides a strong flexion vector.

What is a broken femur bone?

A broken femur is a break in the thighbone. The femur is the longest, largest, heaviest, and strongest bone in the body. It makes standing and walking possible. Because of the femur’s strength and size, femur fractures tend to occur only when the thighbone comes under significant force.

How do you treat a fractured femur?

In the most common surgery to repair a femur fracture, the surgeon inserts a rod or large nail into the center of the bone. This rod helps support the bone until it heals. The surgeon may also put a plate next to your bone that is attached by screws. Sometimes, fixation devices are attached to a frame outside your leg.

How serious is a broken femur in an elderly person?

A femur break is a serious break at any age but it can be deadly to seniors that are 65 years and older. The femur is the longest bone in the body. Femur breaks/fractures are most likely at the hip but in some cases can be at the lower extremities.

Can a 90 year old recover from a broken femur?

Conclusion: Surgery is the treatment of choice for patients aged 90 years and older with proximal femoral fracture. However, they have a lower rate of regaining pre-injury walking ability and a higher in-hospital death rate than younger patients.

How painful is a femur break?

How Does It Feel? A femur fracture may cause extreme pain in the upper leg area or hip area. It also may cause lesser pain in the buttocks, knee, thigh, groin, or back.

Is femur fracture same as hip fracture?

A hip fracture is a break in the thighbone (femur) of your hip joint. Joints are areas where two or more bones meet. Your hip joint is a “ball and socket” joint, where your thighbone meets your pelvic bone. The ball part of your hip joint is the head of the thighbone.

How do you immobilize a broken femur?

A fractured femur should be immobilized using a traction splint whenever possible. If a traction splint is not available, immobilize the casualty using an improvised splint (see figure 4-4). level of the ischial strap.

What is the pathophysiology of fracture?

Fractures occur in patients with decreased bone strength and who experience an injury. Thus, the pathophysiology of fractures encompasses a multitude of factors that determine bone strength (bone mass, bone quality, age, skeletal geometry) and the frequency, nature, and effects of injuries (Figure 4.1).

How do Doctors describe fractures to each other?

Doctors describe fractures to each other using classification systems. Femur fractures are classified depending on: The location of the fracture (the femoral shaft is divided into thirds: distal, middle, proximal) The pattern of the fracture (for example, the bone can break in different directions, such as crosswise, lengthwise, or in the middle)

What happens if you fall and Break Your femur?

Older adults can fracture their femur from a fall because their bones tend to be weaker. Depending on how close to the hip the break is, it may be called a hip fracture instead of a femur fracture. In most cases, your doctor will start with an X-ray.

What happens when a femur fracture enters the knee?

Distal femur fractures that enter the the knee joint may heal with a defect in the normally smooth surface of the joint. Because the knee is the largest weightbearing joint in the body, any defect can damage the protective articular cartilage and, over time, result in arthritis.

What are the treatments for a broken femur?

Following a femur break, once the bone is set back into its proper place and is stable, your doctor will most likely recommend physical therapy to strengthen the muscles around the bone. Exercises to strengthen the thigh will also help with the return to flexibility and normal function of the leg.