Do I Need to Treat a Fracture?

June 1, 2023

Avoiding injury is something that we all strive to do. Not only can injuries be painful, but they can disrupt your daily life while you are healing. While certain injuries like minor cuts or strains will heal on their own, more serious injuries like broken bones need to be treated in order to heal properly.

If you suspect a broken bone after a particularly big fall or impact, come see us. Our center is fully equipped with an X-ray machine, and we can figure out exactly what happened.

Our AFC Urgent Care Ooltewah team explains the importance of X-rays and what one can do for your injury, so read on to learn more.

Why Do Bones Break?

We all know that without our bones, we wouldn’t exist! Our bones are the foundation for our bodies and help us walk, talk and hug our loved ones. They also have the important job of protecting your vital organs. These important jobs mean that your bones have to be strong enough to withstand the pressures associated with daily life.

One cool thing about our bones is that they are actually kind of flexible! This flexibility is meant to help absorb the force of moderate impacts to protect you from injury. However, our bones are not invincible and large falls or severe accidents can prove to be too much, causing bones to crack or break. If the site of the injury is swollen, painful to the touch or to any movement, or you can see a physical deformity, get in the car and come see us.

Common Bones That Experience Fractures

Wrists
Ankles
Hips
Clavicle (collarbone)

What Is the Benefit of an X-ray?

We are glad you asked! X-rays are one of the best ways to get an inside look at your body. X-ray beams travel from our machine and through your body to create an image. These beams don’t travel through bone, so what is left on the image is your internal structure! Pretty cool, yeah? We offer digital X-rays at our site, which are faster and more concise that traditional X-rays.

Instead of being developed on film, these X-rays are taken and then the image is uploaded onto a computer. The downloaded images are then able to be zoomed in on or frozen so we can get a clear picture of the injury site. We are looking for dark spaces around your bone that indicate a fracture. Digital X-rays can help us pinpoint even the smallest of fractures! Treating a fracture is important so you don’t make it worse or even suffer a complete break of the affected bone.