how can you tell difference between sprain and fracture?
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A sprain is classified as a stretched or torn ligament or tendon, while a fracture is a broken bone. If you're experiencing pain around the soft tissue but not over your bone, it's likely that you have a sprain and not a break. Typically you can move the affected limb with a sprain as well.
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Regardless of the specific structure affected, musculoskeletal injuries can generally be classified in one of two ways: acute or chronic. An acute injury is sudden and severe such as a broken bone. A chronic injury develops and worsens over an extended period of time like shin splints.
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['sudden, sharp pain.', 'a “popping” sensation at the time of injury.', 'tenderness.', 'swelling within the first few hours.', 'bruising within the first few days.', 'partial or complete weakness in your leg.', 'inability to place weight on your leg.']
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How Do I Know If I Have a Bone Fracture? Doctors can usually recognize most fractures by examining the injury and taking X-rays. Sometimes an X-ray will not show a fracture. This is especially common with some wrist fractures, hip fractures (especially in older people), and stress fractures.
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The most common ankle problems are sprains and fractures (broken bones). A sprain is an injury to the ligaments. It may take a few weeks to many months to heal completely. A fracture is a break in a bone.
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If the pain can't be explained by fractures, ripped tendons or muscles, bruising, or major injury, then shin splints might be the culprit. Symptoms of shin splints include tenderness, soreness, or pain along the inner part of the lower leg. Swelling in this area can also occur.
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If you've broken a bone: you may hear or feel a snap or a grinding noise as the injury happens. there may be swelling, bruising or tenderness around the injured area. you may feel pain when you put weight on the injury, touch it, press it, or move it.
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With most sprains, you feel pain right away at the site of the tear. Often the ankle starts to swell immediately and may bruise. The ankle area is usually tender to touch, and it hurts to move it. In more severe sprains, you may hear and/or feel something tear, along with a pop or snap.
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In general, a broken foot tends to be more painful than a sprained foot, and the pain lasts longer. Bruising, swelling, and tenderness are also more severe if your foot is broken. Another way to tell the difference between a broken foot and sprained foot is the sound the body makes when the injury occurs.
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An avulsion fracture is a kind of incomplete fracture and has symptoms that are similar to bone breaks in other parts of the body. The symptoms of this kind of fracture can be similar to those of dislocated or sprained joints. These symptoms can include: A bone that is out of place.
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A fracture is a broken bone. It will heal whether or not a physician resets it in its anatomical position. If the bone is not reset correctly, the healing process will keep the bone in its deformed position.
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Bone Break vs. Fracture. It may come as a surprise, but a broken bone and a fractured bone are the same thing. A fracture occurs when an outside force is too great for a bone to handle.
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With a sprain, you feel pain. But if you have numbness or tingling, your ankle is most likely broken. Where is the pain? If your ankle hurts or is tender to the touch directly over your ankle bone, you probably have a fracture.
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Overview. A sprained ankle is an injury that occurs when you roll, twist or turn your ankle in an awkward way. This can stretch or tear the tough bands of tissue (ligaments) that help hold your ankle bones together.
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A nonunion, delayed union, or malunited fracture may occur in any bone, but these conditions are most common in the humerus, or upper arm, and the tibia, or lower leg. Symptoms of a fracture that is not healing normally include tenderness, swelling, and an aching pain that may be felt deep within the affected bone.
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Sometimes an X-ray will not show a fracture. This is especially common with some wrist fractures, hip fractures (especially in older people), and stress fractures. In these situations, your doctor may perform other tests, such as a computed tomography (CT) scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or a bone scan.
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Even if your symptoms aren't severe, it's still important to see a doctor. Some people may not have serious pain and swelling after a fracture, but they may still require treatment. Your doctor can also determine if you have a sprain or other minor injury instead of a fracture.