How Do Broken Bones Heal?

but these experts basically help the body heal itself. Doctors provide optimal conditions for bone repair and healing to take place. The rest is up to your cells. Sometimes broken bones can heal so thoroughly within a few months that even an X ray can't determine the original fracture line. So how does this amazing biological process work? How can a fractured live m grow back to its former strength. Let's first take a closer look at just what bones are

made of and how alive they really are. It's easy to think of your bones as solid, lifeless matter upon which all of our living tissue just sits. But your skeleton is as much a living part of your being as your softer tissues and organs. The body stores minerals in the hard compact bone itself, and inside the center of the bone, the body produces red blood cells and the red marrow, and stores fat and the yellow marrow. It's important to remember that your bones are constantly changing.

Cells called osteoclasts break down old bone so that osteo blasts can replace it with new bone tissue, a process called bone remodeling. Another type of cell called the chondrablast forms new cartilage. These are three of the primary cells responsible for bone growth, and not just the bone growth you experience early in life. This constant bone remodeling gradually replaces old bone tissue with new tissue over the course

of months. But what happens when a bone breaks? Almost immediately after the break, the body begins to try and put itself back together again, and doctors often divide the overall process into four phases. First, there's a fracture hematoma. When a bone breaks, the fissure also severs the blood vessels running down the length of the bone, and blood leaks out of these veins and quickly forms a clot. That's the fracture hematoma. This helps to stabilize the bone

and keep both pieces lined up for mending. The clot also cuts off the flow of blood to the jagged bone edges. Without fresh blood, these bone cells quickly die. Swelling and inflammation follow due to the work of cells removing dead and damaged tissue. Tiny blood vessels grow into the fracture hematoma to fuel the healing process. After several days, the fracture he toma develops tougher tissue, transforming it into

a soft callous. The cells, called fiber blasts begin producing fibers of collagen, which is the tough protein that mostly makes up bone and connective tissue. The condrablasts then begin to produce a type of cartilage called fibro cartilage. This forms up through the callous, transforming it again into a tougher fibro cartilagenus callous, which bridges the gap between the two pieces of bone. This callous generally lasts for about three weeks. Next, osteoblasts move in and produce bone cells,

transforming the callous into a bone callous. This hard shell lasts three to four months, and it provides the necessary protection and stability for the bone to enter the final stage of healing. At this point, the body establishes the position of the bone within the flesh, begins reabsorbing bits of dead bone, and has that hard callous to bridge the gap between the two pieces of bone. However, this bulge of tissue needs a lot of work before the

bone can take any strain. Osteoclasts and osteoblasts spend months remodeling bone by replacing the bone callous with harder, compact bone. These cells also decrease the callous buld, gradually returning the bone to its original shape. The blood circulation within the bone improves, and the resulting influx of bone strengthening nutrients such as calcium and phosphorus strengthen the bone. However, even in the best of cases, fractures often require medical attention

to heal as smoothly as possible. Of first, there's the diagnosis. Before any further treatment can happen, the doctor must determine whether a fracture occurred at all, and, if so, the severity of the injury. Doctors generally accomplished this by examining the patient and inspecting X rays or other images of the damaged area. Then, once they figure out what needs to be done. There's immobilization. This is how the doctor helps your body line up the broken bone and limit

mobility so that the growing calluses aren't damaged. They can help immobilize the affected area with a splint, cast brace, or sling. A realigning broken bones can be painful, so during this step a patient might need anything from local

anesthetic to spinal anesthesia to temporarily lessen the pain. In the case of more complex fractures that require very specific immobilization, the doctor may apply traction, which is a system of weights, ropes, and pulleys that constantly pull on fractured limbs to maintain alignment.

Most fractures can be treated without surgery, but sometimes doctors perform surgery to remove foreign materials or bone fragments, or sometimes the best way to stabilize certain fractures is to go in and align the bones with metal rods, implanted screws, and pins. Some fractures, such as those to the hip and joints, require artificial replacements. Finally, there's rehabilitation. The same bullization that keeps stress off the healing bone also leaves

the surrounding muscles with little to do. This leads to the loss of muscle mass, strength, and flexibility. The special exercise regimes allow individuals to gradually rehabilitate their newly healed limbs without risking re injury. Today's episode is based on the article how do broken bones Heal? On how stuff works dot com, written by Robert Lamb. Brain Stuff is production of by Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff

works dot Com, and it's produced by Tyler Clang. The four more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.