How Do Bones Break?

Bones are made up of bone cells, proteins, and minerals. These elements help bones become strong, but even strong things can break! Bones can bend under some strain, but once the pressure is too much they break. Ever break a pencil in two? It is a similar effect.

Fracture is the term given to bones when they break, and there are many different ways to fracture a bone. Doctors describe fractures in the following ways:

	An open fracture is when the bone is sticking through the skin
	A simple fracture is when the bone doesn't break through the skin
	A complete fracture is when the bone has broken into two pieces
	A greenstick fracture is when the bone cracks, but does not break all the way through
	A single fracture is when the bone is broken in one place
	A comminuted fracture is when the bone is broken into small pieces or crushed
	A bending fracture, which only happens in kids, is when the bone bends but doesn't break

For Further Information:

Types of Bone Fractures

Bone Fracture Diagrams

Broken Bones

Basics About Fractures

Fracture FAQ's

Why Do Broken Bones Hurt?

When you break a bone your body sends out tons of signals. You may feel dizzy, chilled, pass out, or cry from all the pain. Some people don't feel any pain right away because of the shock of the injury.

Whenever we experience pain it is because our nerves send the message "OUCH" to our brain. When we break our bone, our brain gets an "OUCH" message, but not from our bones. Bones do not have nerves. However, other structures around our bones do!

Periosteum is a thin, film-like covering over our bones and it has lots of tiny nerve fibers. These nerve fibers are just one part of the "OUCH" messages our brain receives.

Muscles and layers of skin tissue also surround our bones. These structures also have lots of nerve fibers that send "OUCH" messages to our brain. They also contain body fluid. This body fluid contains chemicals that our body uses to fight off infection and heal injured areas - like areas around the broken bone.

Sometimes the tissues around the broken bone already have enough fluid. The extra fluid then goes into spaces between the tissues. This extra fluid is what cause swelling which puts pressure on the tissue surrounding the broken bone. This extra pressure on the nerves sends even more "OUCH" messages to our brain.

For Further Information:

Bone Pain