When a fracture occurs in the bone the body undergoes a natural healing process to unite the bone segments. A bone is considered healed when it is strong enough to allow return to normal activities. Depending on many factors, healing a fracture can take anywhere from 4 weeks to 6 months. A non-union is when a fractured bone fails to heal after a period of 6 to 12 months.
New bone tissue forms around the fracture or break. When the fracture does not have adequate blood supply (due to injury or trauma of the surrounding area), then proper healing components cannot be transferred to the bone. Blood supply offers very important healing properties like oxygen and growth factors. A non-union may occur in this case but can also occur because of instability during healing. Additionally, bone infection can cause, or be a result of bone non-union. Non-unions are more likely to occur if the fracture or break results from a high-impact incidents, such as a car accident. This is because high energy injuries can impair the surrounding blood supply to the broken bone.
Proper nutrition and your body’s ability to uptake nutrients like proteins, calcium, vitamin C, and vitamin D is also very important for healing bone properly. Lack of a good nutrition can make it harder for your bones to heal. There are certain factors that increase risk of non-unions. These can include tobacco or nicotine use, older age, diabetes, hypothyroidism, or medications
Understanding the underlying causes and properly diagnosing your condition is the first step to treatment. We then provide a holistic approach to helping patients and their families through their surgical journey. Properly supporting you and/or your child, while educating you on the details helps us ensure the most successful outcomes possible. Our hands on, team approach makes patients feel supported throughout the whole treatment process.
To learn more about your condition and receive a diagnosis, schedule a virtual consultation with one of our experienced orthopedic doctors. During this consultation, all your questions will be answered as our specialists guide you through the evaluation process.
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At the Canadian Limb Lengthening Centre we offer complex deformity correction and limb lengthening surgeries performed by experienced surgeons with the most up to date technologies. When it comes to your care, and treatment of deformity and limb length discrepancy, our surgeons have extensive training and experience.
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