Hip fractures: varieties, at-risk groups and others

Fractures of the hip occur particularly often in the elderly. The main danger is that the injured thigh can lead to a number of complications and in some cases even threaten the life of the patient. In order to completely get rid of the consequences of injury, it takes at least six months to comply with bed rest - often for the elderly it is equivalent to death. Of course, it should be noted that modern medicine is very successful in treating hip fractures, but this does not eliminate the problem of the number of injuries. By the way, children have no problems with hip bones - a young age, as a rule, is characterized by bone strength.

Varieties

Hip fractures are divided into three groups by specialists. The first includes injuries of the upper end of the thigh, the second - problems with the body of the femur, and the third - a fracture of the lower end of the femur. Each of the groups is characterized by a special mechanism of damage, clinical manifestations and, accordingly, the method of treatment.

Femur

Fractures of the body of the femur are considered to be very serious injuries. As a rule, they are accompanied by a painful shock and entail heavy blood loss. As the main reason for this type of injury, doctors call beats and falls, as well as car accidents and all sorts of sports injuries. It is natural, therefore, that such fractures of the hip are usually observed in people of young and middle age.

Symptomatics

To determine the presence of a fracture is not difficult: the victims usually complain of unbearable pain in the injured area; After a while, the damaged area swells, the limb can deform.

First Aid

With a hip fracture, help should be given immediately, without waiting for the arrival of an ambulance. First of all, fix the injured limb and give the person an anesthetic. If the fracture is open, just above the wound, a tourniquet should be applied; However, do not forget that it is allowed to keep it for not more than an hour and a half - otherwise the limb may become dead.

Treatment

In addition to applying a cast bandage, treatment must include procedures such as combating traumatic shock and blood transfusion (if necessary). In addition, in some cases, the doctor can prescribe skeletal traction, wearing external fixation devices and even surgery.

Closed fracture of hip

In this case, the cause most often becomes a fall or a blow to the knee area; A closed fracture is often accompanied by a displacement. Symptoms include acute pain in the patella area. In order to make sure the diagnosis is correct, the patient is usually given an MRI of the knee joint. Treatment usually begins with anesthesia; If the patient has hemarthrosis, the puncture of the joint is additionally prescribed: the stale blood is sucked off using a special needle. After this, the patch from the groin to the ankles is fixed with a plaster bandage. Wearing it can take from four to eight weeks. If the bone fragments are displaced, they are first compared, and screws are used for fixation.