What is a Femur Fracture?

In order to understand ‘what is a femur fracture’, you need to know what does the word femur mean. Femur is another name given to the thigh bone, the strongest and the largest bone in our body. Basically, the femur is a long bone that extends from the hip joint to the knee joint, and it is known to be a strong bone. Usually, a high amount of damage is required for causing a fracture as the bone is one of the strongest in the body. The most common causes of femur fracture have been seen as car accidents and falls from a height. There can be some other reasons behind a femur fracture, and they can bring about different types of fracture.

Femur Fracture

Types of Femur Fracture

There are three types of femur fracture and you would find that they are divided on the basis of the part of the femur that has been affected. The first type is known as the proximal femur fracture, and is commonly known as a hip fracture. The proximal fracture usually affects the upper part of the thigh, just next to the hip bone. The second type of fracture is known as femoral shaft fracture, a common kind of femur fracture that occurs due to car accidents and falls from great heights. Supracondylar femur fracture is another type of femur fracture that affects the bone right above the knee joint. The supracondylar is quite dangerous and can lead to a case of knee arthritis in the near future. You should take care of such a condition by proper surgery, and should also evaluate any kind of damage that has happened to the knee during this injury. Apart from the femur fractures that happen due to injuries, there is another type of femur fracture that can happen in rare cases.

Pathological Femur Fracture

The pathological femur fracture is another kind of fracture that happens due to completely different reasons. When a portion of the bone is weakened due to infections, tumors and other such reasons, it can lead to a pathological fracture. Usually, there are some underlying conditions involved in such a femur fracture, and you should take care of this underlying cause during the treatment of this fracture.

Useful Link: Wiki – Hip Fracture

What Causes a Fractured Femur?

In order to understand what causes a fractured femur, you need to understand the basic meaning of a femur fracture. A femur is the name given to the thigh bone, one of the strongest and the largest bones in the human body. Any kind of femur fracture means that the impact that led to the fracture was quite severe, and such an injury usually happens in high speed motor collisions. Apart from such motor collisions, there can be some other reasons that can lead to a femur fracture. Some of them have been mentioned here and you would find that the cause of femur fracture is not simply related to collisions and high falls.

Fractured Femur

Pathological Fractured Femur

A pathological femur fracture is a different type of femur fracture and this is usually brought about due to reasons like infections and other diseases. You would find that this is a cause of femur fracture that is present in some rare cases of femur fracture. Basically, a femur fracture is defined as an injury to the bone in a particular area that has been weakened due to several reasons. Usually, these reasons are related to infections, tumors, and some inherited bone disorders. Apart from these, there are several other diseases that can lead to a pathological femur fracture. Usually, the femur fracture happens while performing a regular activity and this is mainly because of the weakening of the bone to such an extent that it cannot perform its regular functions.

Other Types of Femur Fracture

There are different causes of a femur fracture, as discussed above, and they can lead to different types of femur fractures too. The most common type of femur fracture is known as femoral shaft fracture, the usual kind of injury that happens during high speed collisions and falls from a great height. Proximal femur fractures are another type of femur fractures that usually happen in the hip. These femur fractures arise adjacent to the hip joint and can impact your ambulatory system. Supracondylar femur fractures arise in the femur bone right above the knee joint. These kinds of femur fractures are the worst as they can lead to severe problems in the knee. In order to take care of a fractured femur, you need to provide immediate medical attention to such an injury.