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What Are the Symptoms?

Signs and symptoms of a fracture include:

• Swelling or bruising over a bone.
• Deformity of an arm or leg.
• Pain in the injured area that gets worse when the area is moved or pressure is applied.
• Loss of function in the injured area.
• In compound fractures, bone protruding from the skin.

Fractures are usually caused by a fall, blow, or other traumatic event. Pathologic fractures are those caused by disease that weakens the bones and can occur with little or no trauma. Osteoporosis, a disorder in which the bones thin and lose strength as they age, causes 1.5 million fractures each year in the U.S. — especially in the hip, wrist, and spine.
Bone cancer is another disease that may lead to fractures.

Call Your Doctor If:

You think that you or someone you're with may have fractured a bone. This is a medical emergency.