Summer is right around the corner – yay! This means soccer, baseball, swim meets, trampolines, bike rides and… broken bones? It’s true, many fracture injuries happen during the spring and summer months because of all the activities your child is involved in.
Common Types of Fractures
Greenstick fractures: the bone bends like green wood, but only breaks on one side
Torus fractures: the bone buckles and twists but does not completely break
Bend fracture: the bone bends but does not break at all
Complete fracture: the bone breaks all the way through
Signs and Symptoms
You will most likely see swelling and your child will be in pain, possibly unable or unwilling to move the injured limb. If this occurs, please see a doctor right away. AllKids Urgent Care has all the necessary equipment and X-ray machines at both locations to provide basic fracture care.
Treatment
A doctor will take X-rays of the injured limb to determine what type of fracture it is and will either use a plaster or fiberglass cast. If a cast isn’t necessary, an immobilizing splint will be used instead. The cast or splint will be used until the bone heals, which usually takes about half the time an adult bone would require. Your doctor may also order additional X-rays while the bone is healing, to ensure proper alignment.
Having a child with a broken bone can be scary, but rest assured that AllKids Urgent Care is here to help guide you every step of the way with a caring and knowledgeable pediatric staff, X-ray machines, and other equipment to provide basic fracture care for the tiniest of bones. AllKids is a pediatric urgent care with offices in Mesa and Gilbert. Both our Mesa pediatric urgent care and our Gilbert pediatric urgent care are open 12 noon to 10 pm daily, all summer long.