What Is a Transverse Fracture?
There are many different types of fractures or broken bones that may occur. One of these is a transverse fracture. This description implies that the bone is completely broken in a manner that is perpendicular to the way the bone runs. To understand this, people could stretch out the arm and consider the two main bones in the forearm. Lay the hand on its side across, rather than up and down, the forearm and imagine this is the site of the bone break; essentially the break crosses the bone completely and the bone is thus separated into two pieces.
Often transverse fracture results from a direct blow (imagine a karate chop directly across the arm), but it can also sometimes occur when people do things repetitively, like running. When the fracture occurs, the bone may or may not line up completely. The action of the injury can cause the bone to separate, so that part of it is misaligned and needs to be reducted or re-placed together.
This means treatment for transverse fracture could involve either an open or closed reduction before the area is given a cast (when that is possible). In the open reduction, doctors must surgically put the bone back together, and they may employ things like metal pins, plates or screws so that the bone will stay in place and heal completely. The closed reduction may still require anesthesia because it can be very painful to correctly replace the bone from an exterior and non-surgical position.
Typically casting is required whether or not reduction occurs because a full break across the bone can take a long while to heal. Healing time may vary. Yet it is not uncommon for some transverse fractures to require several months of recuperation before the bone is able to completely knit itself back together.
When the transverse fracture is closed, and the bones have not broken the skin, it may be difficult to tell the nature and severity of the fracture. Even a closed transverse fracture may suggest an extremely risky situation that involves not only bone but nerve damage. X-ray is usually the main diagnostic tool to assess damage, and this may be followed by reduction of surgical or non-surgical type depending on the extent of the injury.
One thing that might keep many of these fractures relatively in place is when they only involve injury of a single bone. In the forearm, for instance, there are two bones, the ulna and radius. If only one of these bones suffers a transverse fracture, the other whole bone may provide stability so that the fracture stays closed. On the other hand, if both bones break, which is called a compound fracture, there is much greatly likelihood of bones piercing the skin due to total lack of bone stability in the arm, but it really depends on the injury.
What can be said is the transverse fracture is a very serious break in the bone. It is likely to be painful prior to receiving medical help. Any form of fracture requires immediate medical attention. This give the best opportunity for setting the bone if needed, and beginning the care that will result in healing.
Written by Tricia Ellis-Christensen
