Injury that specifically affects the portion of the femur that connects the femoral head to the rest of the bone.
Most hip fractures in people with normal bones are the result of high-energy trauma (road traffic accidents). If they occur as a result of minor trauma or a minor fall, they may be a fragility fracture in a person with a disease that weakens the bone (e.g. osteoporosis).
It manifests with severe pain, shortening of the leg length and external rotation of the leg (the foot faces outwards).
Diagnosis is made by detailed medical history, thorough physical examination and imaging tests (plain X-rays, CT-scan or MRI).
Hip fractures most often require surgical treatment to resolve. When the quality of the bone is good and the fracture permits, pins or screw-in plates specifically developed to hold the fragments in place while the fracture callus forms can be used. Rehabilitation exercises to regain strength in the affected leg muscles are very important.
- J. Richmond, G.B. Aharonoff, J.D. Zuckerman, J.K. Koval., Mortality risk after hip fracture., J Orthop Trauma, 17 (2003), pp. 53-56
- M. Gdalevich, D. Cohen, D. Yosef, C. Tauber. Morbidity and mortality after hip fracture: the impact of operative delay. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg, 124 (2004), pp. 334-340
- Bone mass and osteoporotic fractures. Calcif Tissue Int 1990; 47:63-65
- Amillo S, Villas C, Cañadell J. Manual de ortopedia y traumatología. Pamplona: Ediciones Eunate,, 229-242y (1991), pp. 295-309
