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Googling “buckle fracture”

My feelings of maternal guilt were successfully lifted by the stories of my Coffee with Julie friends. Ouch! One almost forgets how injury-prone the young can be!

As for my dear little Stella, she came home with the following verdict from the hospital: buckle fracture.

Buckle fracture? Okay … never heard of this! The physician we’d first seen at the clinic mentioned the possibility of a “greenstick fracture.”  Beyond these two, there seems to be quite the endless list of ways children can break their bones. Just for *fun*, take a look at all the possible types of fractures that children can experience (the very first one is the kind Stella has):

fractures illustration

Apparently the Buckle and Greenstick fractures are quite common in children because the softness of their bones makes it possible for them to bend rather than break. These types of fractures can be easily overlooked (yep, more mother-guilt lifted!) or misdiagnosed. According to Kids Health, this is the difference between the two:

  • buckle or torus fracture: one side of the bone bends, raising a little buckle, without breaking the other side
  • greenstick fracture: a partial fracture in which one side of the bone is broken and the other side bends (this fracture resembles what would happen if you tried to break a green stick)

With a buckle fracture, at least according to my google search skills, it’s acceptable to splint the area rather than cast it and receive the same or better outcome. Stella’s got a splint on, and although both Hubby were skeptical about its ability to actually do much for healing, we have to admit that it’s much handier than a cast. You can remove it for sleeping and showering, which is a big bonus. Also, for when the whining about it gets too annoying 😉

Comments

  1. Doubt my father has paternal guilt so no maternal guilt for you :)

    When we were young, my brother hurt his shoulder. My father told him to keep moving it and it will help it. Cut to a few hours later and my bro has a greenstick fracture and the doc specifically asks the question, did he do a lot of rotation with his arm after the injury. Don’t know how the doc knew but we thought it was hilarious and always appreciate the advice from Dr. Dad. Not.

  2. Glad it’s a buckle fracture. That’s good news. She’ll heal quickly. Both my kids have had fractures and casts. They’re strong, healthy and happy. I used it as an opportunity to talk about the importance of drinking their milk and taking in lot of calcium so they would have strong bones for a lifetime. : ) 

    • Benefits of calcium … that’s good, I’m going to use that! I tend to remind
      them to be thankful for their health and how cool it is that the body can
      heal itself. (Although, now that I think of it … I probably tread into the
      “be thankful for this food on your plate — it’s healthy and there are kids
      who don’t even have food” territory! Ha!)

  3. Syd’s first break was a buckle fracture, didn’t remember that until I read your post…
    K

  4. My younger son fell off our deck (not a very high deck) when he was 3 and broke his leg in 2 places. he was in a NON-WALKING cast for 13 weeks. I had to carry him everywhere, sponge bathe him and keep him happy all day for 13 weeks.  that little guy never complained, but I complained every day! it was not fun!! but, he healed perfectly and it is now just another “Mommy-War-Story”!

    so, back to the trenches!
    Sarah

  5. it was tough, but after several visits to CHEO , and seeing children MUCH worse off, I was reminded that this was a temporary situation. he WOULD get better. and i was so grateful.

  6. So many possibilities! I’m glad my bones are old and brittle so the only option is for them to shatter. Makes diagnosis much simpler

  7. Stumbled upon this while googling common kids injuries such as this :) Same reason, doctor mentioned it and I thought he was making stuff up on the lfy haha!

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