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Fracture, bone Blog
Includes: Ankle Fracture, Arm Fracture, Bone Fracture, Broken Ankle, Broken Arm, Broken Bone, Broken Leg, Broken Nose, Broken Wrist, Pathological Fracture, Wrist Fracture
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Heart Failure, Osteoporosis Go 'Hand-in-Hand': Researchers
Posted 6 days ago by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Feb. 7 – Heart failure is linked to thinning of the bones and an increased risk of fractures, a new study indicates. The findings suggest that aggressive screening for osteoporosis may be important for heart failure patients, the researchers said. They looked at data from about 45,500 adults who underwent bone mineral density testing for the first time and were followed for up to 10 years. Of those people, 1,841 had recent-onset heart failure. After the researchers adjusted for traditional osteoporosis risk factors, they concluded that heart failure was associated with a 30 percent increased risk of major fractures. The study will be published in the April issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. "Our study demonstrates for the first time that heart failure and thinning of bones go hand in hand," study author Dr. Sumit Majumdar, of the University of Alberta ... Read more
Related support groups: Osteoporosis, Heart Failure, Congestive Heart Failure, Fracture, bone
Hip Fracture Patients Often Have Other Health Problems
Posted 23 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Jan. 23 – Weight loss and malnutrition are among the medical conditions that increase treatment costs and the length of hospital stays for older adults with hip fractures, a new study finds. More than 250,000 hip fractures occur each year in the United States, often resulting in hospitalization, surgery, extended periods of rehabilitation and/or long-term disability, and admission to a nursing home. This study looked at coexisting medical conditions (comorbidities) that affect treatment costs and the length of hospitalization for hip fracture patients. The researchers examined 2007 hospital discharge data from 32,440 patients treated at more than 1,000 hospitals in 40 states. Nearly 80 percent of the patients were 75 or older and 72 percent were women. Most of the patients had two or three comorbidities. Only about 5 percent had no other health conditions. High blood pressure ... Read more
Related support groups: Fracture, bone
Crowding in ER May Delay Pain Relief for Kids
Posted 30 Dec 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Dec. 29 – Overcrowding in emergency rooms appears to keep children with broken arms and legs from getting pain relief in a timely manner, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of Colorado School of Medicine said their findings are significant since these injuries, known as long bone fractures, are common among children and very painful. "Pain associated with long bone fractures can be pretty severe," study author Dr. Marion Sills said in a university news release. "But crowded emergency departments are impacting the delivery of care on many levels, including the delivery of pain medication." In conducting the study, published in the December issue of the journal Academic Emergency Medicine, researchers examined 1,229 children treated in an ER over the course of one year. They found the children were 4 percent to 47 percent less likely to receive treatment ... Read more
Related support groups: Pain, Fracture, bone
Health Tip: Signs of a Spinal Fracture
Posted 4 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com
-- A spinal fracture occurs when a small bone in the spine cracks, often a result of soft, brittle bones caused by osteoporosis. The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons lists these common warning signs of a spinal fracture: Back pain that occurs near the spot of the fracture. Pain that worsens when you stand or sit for an extended period. Pain that eases when you rest or lie down. Rarely, pain that appears to radiate to another spot, such as the legs or abdomen. Read more
Related support groups: Osteoporosis, Fracture, bone, Compression Fracture of Vertebral Column
Health Tip: Take Care to Prevent Stress Fractures
Posted 21 Oct 2011 by Drugs.com
-- Stress fractures are common overuse injuries, and may take lots of time to fully heal. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons suggests how to help reduce your risk of stress fractures: Set incremental exercise goals, with gradual increases in intensity and duration. Cross-train, to avoid too much strain on one particular area of the body. Eat a balanced, nutritious diet that's rich in vitamin D and calcium. Use running shoes with sufficient support. Make sure sporting gear isn't worn out. Immediately stop exercising and rest for a few days if you notice swelling or pain. Read more
Related support groups: Fracture, bone
Hip Fracture May Raise a Woman's Risk of Earlier Death
Posted 26 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Sept. 26 – Older women who break a hip are more likely than others to die within a year because of the fracture, not an underlying health condition, a new study finds. "Our study suggests that it is the hip fracture, and not just poor health, that puts these women at higher risk of dying," said study author Dr. Teresa Hillier, a senior investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Ore. "We also found women are at the highest risk of dying within the first three months after hip fracture, which leads us to hypothesize that hospitalization, surgery and immobility lead to other complications that ultimately result in their death," she wrote in a Kaiser Permanente news release. As part of a larger ongoing study involving nearly 10,000 women aged 65 and older, researchers followed 1,116 women who suffered hip fractures and compared them to nearly ... Read more
Related support groups: Hip Replacement, Fracture, bone
Adults With HIV at Increased Risk of Bone Fractures, Study Finds
Posted 11 Mar 2011 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, March 11 – Adults infected with HIV – particularly adults between 25 and 54 – are at increased risk for bone fractures compared to the general population, a new study has found. It's known that low bone mineral density is common in people with HIV, but there is little data on bone fracture rates in this group of patients. In this study, researchers compared rates of bone fractures in 5,826 HIV-infected patients between 2000 to 2008 and people in the general U.S. population between 2000 and 2006. The annual bone fracture rates were between 1.98 and 3.69 times higher among the HIV-infected patients. The findings appear Mar. 11 in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. "We confirmed that several established risk factors for fracture, such as age, substance abuse, hepatitis C co-infection and diabetes were associated with fractures among HIV-infected patients," study author ... Read more
Related support groups: HIV Infection, Fracture, bone
Two-Thirds of Spinal Fractures Undiagnosed, Untreated: Report
Posted 17 Oct 2010 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Oct. 15 – As part of World Osteoporosis Day on Oct. 20, the International Osteoporosis Foundation has issued a new report on the serious but often overlooked problem of spinal fractures, declaring that two-thirds of them go undiagnosed and untreated. A call to action, the report highlights the consequences of spinal fractures that are misdiagnosed as arthritis or mere back pain. "These fractures must not be ignored," John A. Kanis, foundation president, warned in a news release. "Their repercussions can be severe, resulting in stooped back, acute and chronic back pain, loss of height, immobility, depression, increased number of bed days, reduced pulmonary function and even premature death." Even though spinal fractures are often linked to osteoporosis, experts at the foundation warn that physicians often fail to draw a connection between the two. For example, just 40 percent of ... Read more
Related support groups: Osteoporosis, Fracture, bone
Operating Soon After Hip Fractures May Save Lives
Posted 13 Sep 2010 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Sept. 13 – Elderly patients who have surgery soon after suffering a hip fracture reduce their risk of dying by 19 percent, a new analysis shows. Hip fractures are associated with a death rate of 14 percent to 36 percent in the year following the fracture. Current guidelines recommend surgery within 24 hours of a hip fracture. However, some doctors believe delaying surgery helps decrease the risk of complications. In this study, Canadian researchers reviewed 16 previous studies that included a total of 13,478 patients aged 60 and older. They found that surgery performed within 24 to 72 hours after a hip fracture reduces the risk of death and may lower the risk of postoperative pneumonia and pressure sores. The findings were published Sept. 13 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Further research is needed to learn more about the effects that early surgery has on elderly ... Read more
Related support groups: Fracture, bone
Scientists Find Way to Heal Broken Bones Faster
Posted 29 Apr 2010 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, April 28 – Stanford researchers have found a way to significantly speed up the healing of broken bones in mice, a feat which, if replicated in humans, could mean people with fractures would be free of their casts a lot sooner. "This has huge implications," said Dr. Victor Khabie, co-director of the Orthopedic and Spine Institute at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mt. Kisco, N.Y. "Broken bones is a big problem, and this is just the tip of the iceberg." The technique could help in fusing bones as well, and many other surgeries that rely on bone growth and bone healing to succeed, he added. "A lot of the surgeries we do rely on bone growth and bone healing, and a lot of the failures of surgery have to do with the fact that the bone never heals or the fusion never [takes]," Khabie explained. And this might have applications beyond bones. "It isn't limited to bone injuries," ... Read more
Related support groups: Fracture, bone
MRI Beats X-Ray for Spotting Fractures in ER
Posted 27 Mar 2010 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, March 26 – X-rays often fail to detect hip and pelvic fractures, a new U.S. study says. Duke University Medical Center researchers analyzed information on 92 emergency department patients who were given an X-ray and then an MRI to evaluate hip and pelvic pain. "Thirteen patients with normal X-ray findings were found to collectively have 23 fractures at MRI," the study's lead author, Dr. Charles Spritzer, said in a news release from the American College of Radiology/American Roentgen Ray Society. In addition, the study found that, "in 11 patients, MRI showed no fracture after X-rays had suggested the presence of a fracture," Spritzer said. "In another 15 patients who had abnormal X-ray findings, MRI depicted 12 additional pelvic fractures not identified on X-rays." An accurate diagnosis in an emergency department can "speed patients to surgical management, if needed, and reduce ... Read more
Related support groups: Fracture, bone
Women's Height Loss May Indicate Spinal Fracture
Posted 22 Mar 2010 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, March 22 – Height loss in postmenopausal women could be a sign of a spinal fracture, says a new study that included 8,610 women over the age of 60. "We observed a mean loss of height of 4.5 cm [1.8 inches] since early adulthood in a large population of postmenopausal women in primary care practices," wrote Dr. Karine Briot, of Cochin Hospital and Paris Descartes University in France, and her colleagues. "We found the risk of an existing vertebral fracture was significantly higher among patients with a height loss of at least 4 cm [1.6 inches]." Measurement of height loss could be an accurate method for detecting vertebral fractures in postmenopausal women, they concluded. The researchers noted that the actual height of the women was different from what the women reported. This means, they said, that doctors need to measure postmenopausal women's height instead of relying on ... Read more
Related support groups: Fracture, bone, Compression Fracture of Vertebral Column, Prevention of Fractures
Ibuprofen Rated Best for Pain of Broken Arms
Posted 16 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Aug. 18 – For a child with a broken arm, ibuprofen is as effective at treating pain as acetaminophen with codeine, U.S. researchers report. "Our study calls into question the practice of using acetaminophen with codeine as a rescue medicine if ibuprofen fails to treat fracture pain for children," the study's leader, Dr. Amy Drendel, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin, said in a school news release. She and her colleagues studied 336 children, ages 4 to 18, who were treated for simple arm fractures and discharged from the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin emergency department between August 2003 and September 2007. The children were prescribed either ibuprofen or acetaminophen with codeine for their pain once they were home. The study found no overall difference in the number of cases of pain treatment failure in the two groups but did find ... Read more
Related support groups: Ibuprofen, Advil, Motrin, Fracture, bone, Midol IB, Motrin Childrens, Nuprin, Advil Liqui-Gels, Ibuprofen PMR, Children's Motrin, Genpril, Motrin Infant Drops, Advil Migraine, Menadol, Rufen
Genes May Link Hip Fractures and Heart Disease
Posted 2 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Oct. 20 – People with cardiovascular conditions such as heart failure and stroke – and probably their close relatives as well – may have an increased risk for hip fractures, a new study has found. Genetic factors might explain the relationship, including "specific genes involved in cellular mechanisms shared by the vasculature [blood vessels] and bone," said Dr. Karl Michaelsson, an associate professor of medicine at Uppsala University in Sweden and an author of a report on the finding in the Oct. 21 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study, which involved 31,936 twins in the Swedish Twin Registry, found more than a fourfold increased risk for hip fractures for people who had heart failure, which is a progressive loss of the heart's ability to pump blood, and about a fivefold increased risk for those who'd had a stroke, compared with people with no ... Read more
Related support groups: Heart Disease, Ischemic Stroke, Heart Failure, Congestive Heart Failure, Fracture, bone
Hip Fracture Odds Rise With Women's Age
Posted 1 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Nov. 13 – Hip fracture risk is seven times higher in 70-year-old women than in 50-year-old women, according to a study that found that postmenopausal women's risk for hip fracture rises sharply with age. The analysis of data from the Million Women Study of 1.3 million British women aged 50 and older also found that among women aged 50 to 54, the risk of hip fracture of those who are postmenopausal is twice that of premenopausal women. Women who had an early menopause before age 45 had a slightly increased risk of hip fracture, but the effect of early menopause was small compared with the effect of aging. "Our findings show that age is far more important than factors relating to menopause in determining the risk of hip fracture," wrote Emily Banks, of the Australian National University, and colleagues. "Hence, clinical decisions around hip fracture prevention should be based on ... Read more
Related support groups: Fracture, bone