X-ray and Initial Care of Fractures in Cincinnati, OH

Bones are very strong, however, they can become damaged which can lead to fractures, also known as broken bones. While it is easy to notice a broken arm, fractures can be a little more difficult to determine without paying attention to the symptoms after an injury. The symptoms to be mindful of are pain in the area, disfigurement for the area or limb affected, redness or bruising of the skin in the area, swelling of the area, there is potential for external wounds if the bone breaks the skin, and sensation similar to grating when moving the area. If you have these symptoms seek urgent care at EastSide Urgent Care to determine what type of fracture you have. Since different types of fractures affect the bones differently, it is important to seek urgent care after your incident as the bone can affect other tissues in the area including the veins and nerves.

Initially, your urgent care physician will stabilize the area so the bones are not able to move and create any further damage to the soft tissues, this will be followed by an x-ray of the area, and based on the type of fracture they will do a cast. If you fracture your ribs, however, there is no casting process for this and they will tape the area to help support the bones as they heal. If you fractured bones around the joint areas of the body, they may also request you have an MRI or CT scan to make sure that none of the ligaments or tendons in the area suffered any damage as well. 

X-rays are helpful in the treatment of fractures as they can determine if it is a partial fracture or a full fracture of the bone, they can also use this to see if the bone has twisted due to the injury to determine if they will need to shift the placement of the bone before casting. X-rays are also helpful when patients wait a long time before having the injury looked at, as if you wait to receive medical treatment after a bone fracture the bone can heal improperly which can result in the need for further intervention such as rebreaking the bone to align them properly. In the rare event you wait to have a fracture looked at by a medical professional there is also the chance that the area will not continue to heal or will delay the healing process.

This will greatly vary from person to person, as everyone’s healing process is slightly different, and this can also be attributed to the area in which the fracture has occurred and the type of fracture that occurred. The average time it takes for fractures to heal is between six to eight weeks, but if you have a fracture in a small bone such as the wrist this can be healed in four to six weeks. Some larger bones such as the femur or the tibia can take longer to heal with some patients reporting it took up to 20 weeks for the bones to recover. Some fractures may also heal faster than others, as partial fractures involve the healing of only part of the bone, while other factures like compound fractures, spiral fractures, or comminuted fractures may need more time to fully heal

If you are curious about how long it will take for your injury to heal, you can discuss this with your urgent care physician at your appointment when they are determining the severity and type of fracture that has occurred. It will also help the healing process if you follow your doctor’s instructions for care of the area, along with making sure you are taking in the proper nutrition and avoiding things that can delay healing such as smoking and taking anti-inflammatory medications as the inflammation present at the injury site is a sign of a healthy healing process. For more information, contact us or book an appointment. We are conveniently located at 872 Ohio Pike Cincinnati, OH 45245. We serve patients from Cincinnati OH, Covedale OH, Delhi OH, St Bernard OH, Wilders KY, and Elmwood Place OH.