Stages of Bone Healing - Essay Example

When a bone is fractured, it is also healed with a bone just like a new tissue replaces a cut skin. After a bone is fractured, the broken ends of the bone are noticeable within three weeks after the fracture until it completely heals within twelve weeks depending on one’s health, age and metabolism (Stuttaford, 2006). Healing the bone involves four stages.In an article by Daily Herald, Dr. Joseph Janicki explained that immediately after the fracture, the bone undergoes the inflammatory state where the ends of the broken bones bleed and swell.

This would however signal for nutrients to begin the repair of the broken bones. Stages two and three then follow where the body creates a soft cartilage along the broken the broken bones. This soft cartilage keeps the bone in place while it is still recovering. A hard calous then develops replacing the soft cartilage around the bone while the body is growing a bone tissue to replace the cartilage. Finally, the body removes the remnant of the broken bones and replaced it with a normal bone.

Remodelling sets in where the bone continues to form and return to its former state (2010).Factors which may complicate fracture The most common complication of a fracture is the non-union of the bone where the broken bones do not heal. It is usually attributed to smoking and alcohol during the recovery phase because nicotine constricts the blood flow to the bone and delay the healing process. The toxin in alcohol also delays the healing of the broken bone/s.