Overview
The femur — your thigh bone — is the largest and strongest bone in your body. When the femur breaks, it takes a long time to heal. Breaking your femur can make everyday tasks much more difficult because it’s one of the main bones used to walk.
- You feel immediate, severe pain.
- You’re unable to put weight on the injured leg.
- The injured leg appears to be shorter than the uninjured leg.
- The injured leg appears to be crooked.
The femur is a very large, strong bone that is difficult to break. A broken femur is usually caused by a severe accident; vehicle accidents are one of the primary causes.
Older adults can fracture their femur from a fall because their bones tend to be weaker. Depending on how close to the hip the break is, it may be called a hip fracture instead of a femur fracture.
In most cases, your doctor will start with an X-ray. If more information is needed, they might also order a CT (computed tomography) scan. Before recommending specific treatment, your doctor will determine what type of break you have. The most common types are:
- Transverse fracture. The break is a straight horizontal line.
- Oblique fracture. The break has an angled line.
- Spiral fracture. The break has a line that encircles the shaft like the stripes on a barber pole or candy cane.
- Comminuted fracture. The bone is broken into three or more pieces.
- Compound fracture. Bone fragments are sticking out through the skin.
- Open fracture. A wound penetrates down to the broken bone.
Because the femur is such a strong bone, a broken femur (excluding hip fractures) is rare. The healing process typically takes up to six months, going through four phases:
- The body starts the healing process.
- The body experiences inflammation.
- The body regenerates with new bone growth.
- The body remodels with mature bone being replaced by newly formed bone.
The majority of broken femurs require surgery and medication.
Surgery
There are different surgeries, either internal or external, to hold the bones in place while they heal. The most common surgery for a broken femur is called intramedullary nailing. This surgery inserts a rod into the length of the bone with screws above and below to hold it into place.
Medication
Before and after surgery, your doctor may help you manage your pain with over-the-counter and prescription medications, such as:
Complications can arise with femur breaks.
- Proper setting. If the femur is not set properly, there’s a chance the leg will become shorter than the other one and may cause hip or knee pain many years later. Poor alignment of the femur bone may also be painful.
- Peripheral damage. The break may also injure the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and nerves of the leg.
- Surgical complications. Some complications related to surgery include infection and blood clots.
Following a femur break, once the bone is set back into its proper place and is stable, your doctor will most likely recommend physical therapy to strengthen the muscles around the bone. Exercises to strengthen the thigh will also help with the return to flexibility and normal function of the leg.
A broken femur will usually have a major effect on your life, but only temporarily. Surgeries are routinely effective and people are typically able to completely heal from a broken femur. In the majority of broken femurs, patients return to a normal lifestyle.
A femur fracture is a crack, break or crush injury to the thigh bone. Smaller, simpler fractures of the femur do not typically require surgery. However, others that completely break the bone, cause the bone to be crushed or displaced need immediate surgery.
Symptoms of a femur fracture
A fracture in the thigh bone can bring about the following symptoms:
- Inability to stand or move the leg
- Swelling in the hip region
- Bleeding from an open wound
- Deformity of the thigh bone region
- Hematoma
- Thigh muscle spasms
- Tingling or numbness in the leg
Diagnosing the condition
This is a serious injury that is usually diagnosed by a physician. The physician will look for symptoms of a fracture mentioned above along with the help of an X-ray or CT scan.
Based on the nature of the injury, treatment may involve immediate admission to the hospital for surgery or extensive treatment in a rehabilitation facility.
Recovery times
Because the femur is so strong, it often takes a lot of force to break it.
- The cause is usually some type of high energy collisions such as a car or motorcycle accident.
- A severe sports injury could also have the effect for athletes of young people.
- Even a low force incident such as a fall can cause a broken femur in individuals with weak bones.
- In the elderly, broken femur may be caused by a slip or fall.
Most people who receive specialized treatment for a femur fracture are admitted in a long-term nursing or rehabilitation facility.
Full recovery can take anywhere from 12 weeks to 12 months. Yet, many patients can start walking much earlier with the help of a physical therapist.
In case of surgery, recovery times can vary based on the following considerations:
- Timing of surgery will depend on if the skin around the fracture is broken or not. Open fractures expose the injury site to the environment and need to be treated immediately.
- External fixation requires metal screws or pins to be placed into the bone. For patients who need temporary stability before the final surgery, this can add to the recovery times.
- Intramedullary nailing means inserting a specially designed metal rod to keep the nail and bone in proper position during healing.
How is physical therapy helpful?
Physical therapists design individual treatment plans for every patient. The program is devised to limit broken femur complications and includes exercises that help the patients resume a normal level of activity.
Physical therapy can be helpful by addressing the following issues after injury or surgery:
- Reduction in pain levels by using heat or ice therapy
- Resuming motion in the hip, leg and back with exercise and stretching
- Improving strength with exercise to tone and firm muscles
- Stabilizing balance using weights, resistance bands or other devices
- Regaining walking ability
- Speed up healing
- Return to daily activities by deciding on recovery goals and the safest methods to achieve them
- Prevent future re-injury by engineering a home exercise program to strengthen and stretch muscles around the injured area
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