Treatment of a femoral neck fracture: basic techniques

Any injuries of the lower extremities cause a lot of trouble to a person. Each injury has its own characteristics, but the most dangerous doctors consider a hip fracture, because the treatment and rehabilitation period can be long. It is important to remember that if a hip fracture was diagnosed in older people, treatment should be immediate, otherwise there is a risk of complications.

Treatment methods can be very diverse, someone is given treatment easily, and someone can spend a large amount of their time on the rehabilitation and recovery period. A specialist doctor will help you quickly recover and improve your health; in especially difficult cases, you will need the help of an experienced surgeon and orthopedic surgeon.

Symptoms and consequences of a fracture

The neck of the thigh is located in the place where the hip joint is separated from the diaphysis of the thigh, so this place is considered vulnerable. Injury to the neck of the thigh is very simple, everything can happen with a strong blow or during a fall. The most at risk are women in old age. A fracture can be recognized by the following signs:

1. There is severe pain in the pelvic area. The pain may not be acute.
2. After some time, puffiness appears, and the tissues near the thigh can turn blue.
3. Significantly impaired leg mobility.
4. You can notice with the naked eye how the length of the limb changes, it will be shorter.
5. A person will not be able to step freely on a sore leg.

It is important to provide first aid, otherwise a person may face serious consequences, such as:

1. Shock as a result of the injury. This condition is dangerous because in a state of shock a person may not feel pain, step on his leg and provoke a displacement of the bone and its further fragmentation.
2. Deep vein thrombosis appears, which can negatively affect the work of the heart in the future.
3. Blood poisoning, which is likely to lead to gangrene, and may even have to amputate a damaged limb.

In no case should you treat a hip fracture at home without being examined by a doctor, as a person risks not only being disabled for life, but even dying from complications.

Danger of fracture

Elderly people are injured. Statistics indicate that a hip fracture is most common. The danger is that bone density decreases with age and bones grow worse. Fracture of the femoral neck is not the only danger, the whole difficulty is that other diseases begin to develop in parallel:

1. First of all, human activity is reduced, which is why a hip fracture cannot be left without treatment, and a long and effective course of rehabilitation is also required.
2. Since the patient spends more time lying down, the muscles begin to actively atrophy, and it is difficult to return to an active life.
3. Many older people experience pressure sores, especially those who are overweight.
4. Due to the fact that a person lies a lot, diseases of the respiratory system begin to appear in him and the likelihood of developing pneumonia increases.
5. In case of a femoral neck injury, blood vessels are damaged, which leads to impaired blood circulation and the formation of blood clots.
   

Naturally, this is not the whole list of complications, because much depends on the personality of the organism.

The main methods of treatment

Modern fracture treatment methods include not only conservative methods, but also radical measures. Doctors are constantly using new methods that reduce the risk of complications and give chances for a full recovery. To determine which technique is most suitable for treatment, the patient should undergo a full diagnosis.

The treatment of a hip fracture will largely depend on the individuality of the human body. The doctor must take into account the patient's age, state of health, as well as the presence of chronic diseases, if any. There can be many methods of treatment, but either the operational method or the conservative method are considered to be the main ones.

Conservative treatment

Conservative treatment is most often used, but it is only effective if nothing seriously threatens the person. In this case, the injury does not require surgical intervention. The doctor should carefully examine the site of the fracture, assess the presence of fragments and carefully consider other factors. The human body must be strong enough so that the bones can grow together on their own, as a rule, this happens extremely rarely in old age.

Treatment of a femoral neck fracture without surgery and patient care requires strict adherence to all doctor's recommendations. The patient can be put on a special extension tire for two weeks, after which gypsum is applied to the limb, this is necessary so that the damaged leg does not move. In this condition, a sick person must spend at least three months, just as much is necessary for bone fusion. After applying the gypsum, a person can move, experts say that it is even necessary so that the muscles do not atrophy. After a while, the patient can stand on his feet with crutches or special walkers.

Surgical intervention

Any injury to the femoral neck can be difficult, and then conservative intervention will not be effective. If a hip fracture is diagnosed in older people, treatment most often cannot be conservative. Surgery is indicated in such situations:

1. Non-healing fracture over time.
2. Offset bone over a long distance.
3. The fracture was with a lot of fragments.
4. The death of the head of the joint has occurred.
5. The elderly person.
   

In order for the femoral neck to grow together, sometimes it is necessary to carry out surgical reposition. The procedure is performed with special clamps that connect the femoral head itself with its diaphyseal part. Surgical treatment of a femoral neck fracture implies the implantation of special pins and screws. As soon as the patient's bones are fused, the screws can be pulled out, but some have to live with them to the end. Recently, such a method as endoprosthetics has become popular. This design consists of a metal thicket and a polyethylene liner. The barrel is on a cement leg with a metal head. Endoprosthetics is an alternative for a damaged joint and can last a person for at least ten years. The cost of such an operation is high, so not everyone can afford it.

Prosthetics and osteosynthesis

When there is a fracture of the femoral neck in the elderly, treatment is more often performed surgically. Surgical treatment can be performed in two ways:

1. The most common method is osteosynthesis. In this case, bone fragments are fastened with special metal fasteners. There are two fixation methods. The first one is extramedullary, when the bones begin to be fastened with special screws from the outside. The second, intramedullary, - the structure is fixed inside the bones through the bone marrow canal.
   
2. The next method of surgery involves prosthetics. Such an operation is performed if the hip joint cannot function normally, then it is completely replaced with a titanium construction.

Surgical treatment has a large number of advantages over other methods, but sometimes the patient may encounter complications, a disease such as osteomyelitis may develop, in which bone tissue begins to become inflamed.

Diagnostics

Before starting treatment for a femoral neck fracture, the doctor must conduct a diagnosis. If a person does not seek help in a timely manner, he will have complications. Elderly people can break the hip neck not only when falling, but a sharp turn can cause such a nuisance. There are people who begin to establish a diagnosis on their own, believing that they do not have a fracture, but osteoporosis or normal pinched nerves. The only way to diagnose is not only an examination by a doctor, but also an x-ray, which can show in great detail how damaged the bone is. In especially difficult cases, other examination methods are prescribed.

Treatment Predictions

Proper treatment of a hip fracture, patient care during the rehabilitation period will quickly put the patient on his feet. If the patient immediately turns to a specialist after a fracture, there is a chance that surgery will not be needed. In the case when the patient has serious health problems and the bones are badly damaged, the doctor will be able to conduct timely surgery. When timely assistance is not provided to the victim, he may die from blood loss.

It is important to begin treatment in the elderly as early as possible. In this case, a fracture of the femoral neck grows together for a long time, but there is a chance to reduce the possibility of developing complications that an elderly person can not tolerate. Basically, doctors give favorable forecasts, and each person with the right therapy has the opportunity to fully recover and return to their usual way of life.

Care and rehabilitation

It is important to note that in addition to treatment, the patient still has a long rehabilitation. It is necessary to follow all the recommendations of the doctor, so as not to complicate your condition. If everything is done correctly, then most likely the patient will be able to completely restore his mobility after a while and freely return to his normal lifestyle. Many patients, with proper rehabilitation, can walk after six months, without the additional help of crutches. As a rule, after a person underwent surgery and the broken neck of the thigh was restored, treatment at home is carried out for another three months. Care and treatment should be integrated. Consider the basic rules that are necessary to restore the patient:

1. The patient must strictly follow the regimen. The doctor will prescribe special procedures that must be performed strictly. First of all, the patient should fully relax and gradually move from one stage of treatment to another.
2. An important role is played by proper nutrition. The patient should eat well, and all products are selected in such a way that this contributes to bone fusion. If there is a fracture of the femoral neck, recovery, treatment necessarily includes taking a complex of vitamins.
3. In no case should a patient be overstrained. It is not recommended to do large physical exertion, as this can slow recovery. In the first week, experts generally recommend not moving or loading a leg with a fracture, especially walking long distances.
   
4. To reduce pain, the patient is prescribed special medications that must be applied on time, so be sure to follow this and take medications according to the scheme.
5. When treatment was performed with an operation, a femoral neck fracture is restored using special procedures that are not recommended to be missed. As a rule, special physiotherapeutic and rehabilitation procedures are carried out in a hospital.
6. As soon as the general condition of the patient improves, he should move more. For this, special therapeutic exercises are used, but it is important to consult a doctor in advance so that the load on the leg is not too large. While the fracture is already fully healed, the patient should move freely and not even use support for this.

Everyone should understand that a lot depends on various factors, which means that treatment, recovery periods will not be the same. Fracture of the femoral neck occurs in different ways, and treatment is also selected separately. In addition to the main therapy, alternative methods can be added that will help recovery. Used for this decoctions of herbs, compresses and baths.

Nutrition and intake of vitamins for fracture

In addition to surgical or conservative treatment, the doctor will definitely prescribe medications that will support the human body. Therapy includes a large number of vitamins, mainly focusing on vitamin D and calcium. The main goal of the specialist, and the patient himself, is to reduce the recovery period, therefore, products with such elements should also be present in the diet. Young people use a conservative method, but in this case, careful care is required. A hip fracture is treated with vitamin D supplementation, which is actively involved in biosynthesis. Experts recommend elderly people to administer this vitamin artificially so that a sufficient amount of it can accumulate in the body.

Patients should also ensure that foods rich in copper, zinc, boron, manganese and silicon appear in their diet. All these elements will help a person recover as quickly as possible. You can make the right diet yourself, but it is still recommended to consult a doctor. Treatment will be effective only if the patient is attentive to his health and not self-medicate.

Many people ask how long the pathology is treated, but it is worth noting that if there is a hip fracture, treatment, timing can be different, it all depends on many individual characteristics of the human body. Sometimes a full recovery occurs in six months, and some people have to spend a year to learn how to walk almost anew. Young people tend to recover quite quickly, unlike the elderly. Caring for family members and good care will help the patient get on their feet as soon as possible and continue to lead a normal lifestyle.