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You can message your clinic, view lab results, schedule an appointment, and pay your bill. Learn More about MyHealth » Learn More about Video Visits ». Get the iPhone MyHealth app » Get the Android MyHealth app ». The board-certified orthopaedic specialists of Stanford Health Care have the training and experience needed to effectively treat complex long bone fractures.

Our skilled specialists work closely together to develop a complete care plan customized to your condition and unique needs. The goal of the plan is to help relieve your symptoms, which may include pain, tenderness, or swelling in the injured area.

Beyond relieving symptoms, your personalized care plan is designed to reduce your pain and restore function, so you can return to your normal lifestyle and activities.

Stanford Health Care patients with long bone fractures also may have opportunities to participate in research studies of new treatment approaches not yet available anywhere else.

Our skilled orthopaedic surgeons use the latest techniques to treat all types of long bone fractures. Some minor long bone fractures may heal with conservative treatment, such as casting and physical therapy. Most long bone fractures require surgery to stabilize injured bones while they mend, especially when bone fragments break through the skin.

Our treatment goal is to reduce your pain and restore function, so you can move normally again and stay active. Our orthopaedic specialists work with you to develop a treatment plan that considers all aspects of your injury and overall health.

We treat some minor arm and leg fractures using nonsurgical therapies, such as:. Medication: Medications like ibuprofen can reduce pain and swelling near the injury site. Walking aids: If you have a broken leg, your doctor may recommend keeping weight off it as much as possible.

Our team helps you find aids, such as crutches or a wheelchair, that keep you mobile while your injury heals. Physical therapy: Certain exercises and stretches help strengthen your muscles and increase your range of motion.

Physical therapy can help you move the affected area more easily after a long bone fracture heals. When and how often we recommend physical therapy during your recovery depends on your injury. Our board-certified rehabilitation specialists partner with you to develop a personalized plan that fits your lifestyle and goals.

Immobilizing the injured bones allows them to safely heal and helps prevent further damage to bones or nearby tissues. Closed reduction: Your doctor may choose to gently guide bones back into place without surgery.

Our specialists use this procedure to treat fractures where bones have shifted just slightly out of place. A closed reduction usually happens right before we immobilize the injured bones with a cast or brace. Traction: Surgeons use weights and pulleys, attached to a bed, to stretch muscles and tendons around a fracture.

The traction pulling force moves bones back into their natural position. Doctors typically recommend this procedure soon after an injury happens.

Long bone fractures, such as breaks in the femur thighbone , often need surgery to repair damaged tissues. Surgeons may also use pins or plates to provide extra support, so bones safely stay in place as they heal. Our orthopaedic surgeons are skilled in minimally invasive and traditional open techniques, always choosing the least invasive therapy for your situation.

Internal fixation: Surgeons carefully move bones into the correct position. They often use metal tools, such as nails, pins, or plates, to keep broken long bone fragments together while they heal.

Bone grafting : Surgeons may reconstruct a fractured bone when some pieces have been broken or crushed beyond repair. Surgeons rebuild the fractured bone s using healthy bone tissue from another part of your body or a donor.

External fixation: Surgeons stabilize severely fractured bones to metal rods or pins outside your body. This external frame connects to metal pieces attached to your bones, providing extra support so injured bones stay in place.

The Stanford Medicine Online Second Opinion program offers you easy access to our world-class doctors. Visit our online second opinion page to learn more. Clinical trials are research studies that evaluate a new medical approach, device, drug, or other treatment. As a Stanford Health Care patient, you may be eligible to participate in open clinical trials.

Open trials refer to studies that are currently recruiting participants or that may recruit participants in the near future.

You can reduce your risk by protecting your bone strength and having healthy exercise habits. Steps you can take to avoid a long bone fracture include:. To schedule an appointment, please call Share on Facebook. Notice: Users may be experiencing issues with displaying some pages on stanfordhealthcare.

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It will also help you figure out how much more calcium you need to get each day from other food sources or supplements. Download Acrobat Reader Stay Connected Join our community to learn more about osteoporosis, or connect with others near you who are suffering from the disease. Membership in BHOF will help build your practice, keep your team informed, provide CME credits, and allow you access to key osteoporosis experts.

Healthy Bones, Build Them for Life ® Osteoporosis causes an estimated 2 million fractures each year. Food and Your Bones » The food that you eat can affect your bones. Exercise for Strong Bones » There are two types of exercises that are important for building and maintaining bone density: weight-bearing and muscle-strengthening exercises.

A Guide to Calcium-Rich Foods » Looking for more ways to get calcium in your diet? Bone Healthy Recipes » Diet and exercise play critical roles in building and maintaining good bone health for people at every life stage — from infancy through adulthood.

Facts about Bone Health in Children and Adolescents » Building strong bones begins in childhood and is essential to the prevention of osteoporosis. Stay Connected Join our community to learn more about osteoporosis, or connect with others near you who are suffering from the disease.

Sign Up Now Support BHOF Join us in the fight against osteoporosis. Donate today! Donate Now Professional Membership Membership in BHOF will help build your practice, keep your team informed, provide CME credits, and allow you access to key osteoporosis experts.