What is a femur fracture?
The femur, also known as the thigh bone, is the strongest and longest bone in the body and, therefore, it can take a lot of force to fracture it. This is why car accidents are often one of the leading causes of femur fractures. Most often, a femur fracture will require surgical treatment.
Symptoms of a femur fracture
A femur fracture would cause severe pain and you would not be able to put weight on the affected leg.
The pain experienced depends on the type of fracture and the following considerations:
- The pattern of the fracture and how the break occurs through the bone.
- The location of the fracture
- Whether the skin and muscle are intact or were torn by the injury.
A fracture of the femur causes severe pain and usually
prevent you from putting weight on the affected leg
Medical Tests to Diagnose a Femur Fracture
When seeing a patient with a possible femur fracture, the physician will want to know how the injury occurred. After a physical examination that looks for any deformities, fractures, bruising and bone fragments pressing on the skin, imaging tests will be used to provide more information and details about the fracture.
An x-ray is the most common way to evaluate a fracture and will show where the bone within the femur is broken and what type of fracture it is. A CT scan may also be used if an x-ray does not provide enough detail.
What are the causes of a femur fracture?
The most common cause of femur fractures are high-impact car accidents or motorcycle collisions. Other common causes may include:
- Falling from a height
- Being hit by a car as a pedestrian
- Gunshot wounds
- A fall from a standing position, in older people with weakened bones
Treatments for a femur fracture
It is unusual for a femur fracture to heal without surgical treatment, and most femur fractures will be operated on within 24 to 48 hours of diagnosis. Prior to surgery, the leg is supported with a splint to keep the bones aligned and maintain the length of the leg as much as possible.
Main surgical treatments used to treat femur fractures:
- External fixation: metal pins are anchored into the femur bone above and below the fracture. These pins are attached to a bar outside the skin. This bar and the pins will hold the bones in position while they heal. This is often a temporary treatment that is used until the patient can be treated with further surgery.
- Plates and screws: the bones and fragments are repositioned and then held in place with special screws and plates that are attached to the outer surface of the femur bone.
- Intramedullary nailing: This procedure is most often used to treat femur fractures and involves inserting a metal rod into the canal of the femur bone to hold the fracture in position and in alignment. The rod is inserted into the hip or knee and screws are used to fix the rod at the top and bottom of the femur.
Femur Fracture Recovery
Most femur fractures take up to 6 months to heal completely. During that period there will be pain, with short-term relief of this pain after surgery. Physical therapy during the recovery period will help regain strength and mobility.
What type of specialist treats a femur fracture?
An orthopedic surgeon would treat femur fractures.