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The bones of the lower leg in a healthy person are very strong, so they can be broken only with the application of great force. This happens, for example, as a result of car accidents (bumper fractures), jumps from a height, “twisting” of the leg (for example, during football, when an athlete, fighting for the ball, puts his twisted leg out for support, and then falls on it with all his weight ). Doctors call these injuries high-energy injuries. Of course, it is possible to break the bones of the lower leg “out of the blue”, but this happens, fortunately, rarely.
Symptoms of a broken leg
An open fracture of the lower leg is visible to the naked eye – during an injury, soft tissues and skin are torn, exposing the bone. This injury requires emergency surgery.
With a closed fracture, the first symptom is a sharp pain, but you can not focus only on pain, less serious injuries can also be very painful. Pain, in turn, can cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness, shock, loss of consciousness. In some cases, the limb, on the contrary, may become numb and lose sensitivity.
The signs of a fracture are:
- unnatural position of the injured leg;
- change in its length (shortening or lengthening);
- limitation of mobility;
- inability to step on the foot;
- swelling and hematomas (bruises).
When you try to move the injured limb, a crunch may be heard.
Treatment of a broken leg
A fracture of the tibia is a serious injury and only a professional doctor can treat it. It is impossible and dangerous to cure a fracture at home, using folk methods – this can lead to serious complications. You can be disabled for the rest of your life.
Diagnostics
Often, a doctor only needs to look at the injured leg to diagnose a fracture, but an X-ray examination is necessary not only to clarify the diagnosis, but also to rule out other injuries.
Computed tomography, which may be prescribed additionally, shows if there is an impression of one bone into another. By prescribing additional studies, doctors seek to exclude the so-called “pilon fracture”. “Pilon”, translated from French, means “mace”, with this injury, the talus, like a club, hits the distal tibia.
In the event that the diagnosis was made incorrectly and adequate treatment was not prescribed, there is a risk of lifelong limitation of limb mobility.
Modern treatments
Modern methods of treatment of fractures of the bones of the lower leg are aimed at reducing the area of surgical access to the bones. For example, earlier, in order to get to a comminuted fracture of the bones of the lower third of the limb, surgeons were forced to make large incisions to install a plate on the bones. As a result of such an operation, the patient had a serious cosmetic defect for the rest of his life – an extensive scar on his leg. Also, after such an intervention, it was impossible to load the leg for 3-5 months.
When installing, for example, new-generation intramedullary nails, it is possible to step on the limb after about 1,5 months, and the operation is performed through small incisions.
Prevention of a fracture of the lower leg at home
Since tibia fractures are often caused by accidents, it is necessary to use seat belts even in the back seat of a car.
When skiing from the mountains, it is better to choose routes on which there are fewer people and try to avoid colliding with other skiers – a fracture of the lower leg bones is a common injury during such a “meeting”.
You can get a fracture of the lower leg without ever getting on skis – traumatologists really don’t like tubing: a fracture of the lower leg or both is not the worst injury that you can get by sliding down on an uncontrollable “cheesecake” and crashing, for example, into the wall of the house.
Children should also be explained the injury risk of bungee jumping into a shallow body of water, and the elderly – the importance of preventing osteoporosis, a disease that leads to increased bone fragility – eating calcium-rich foods, controlling the level of vitamin D in the blood, a healthy lifestyle and moderate exercise.
Popular questions and answers
We asked patients to answer typical questions neurosurgeon, traumatologist, MD Sergei Orlov.
How to provide first aid for a fracture?
What are the complications of a fracture?
The most complex fractures of the bones of the lower leg are intra-articular, that is, those cases when the fracture line passes inside the joint. These fractures require more sophisticated treatments. In recent decades, methods of their treatment have been significantly improved. Traumatologists also use a system of skeletal traction, devices for extrafocal osteosynthesis (Ilizarov devices), systems of bone osteosynthesis with modern plates of precise stable fixation, which allow early activation of a patient with a fracture. With timely treatment and the implementation of the doctor’s recommendations during the rehabilitation period, the prognosis is favorable.