Can you rebreak an bone that was already broken once? I have not fallen or it hit up against anything?

Question

I broke my arm about 5 years ago..lately it has been hurting in the area the bone broke. I'm wondering if the bone broke again or possible a hairline fracture.

I thought it was the weather...but it's 104 everyday and don't see any change in the weather anytime soon...I'm in Texas. But what I found odd was one nite I was cleaning up the kitchen and I could barely hold a plate in my hand. That's why I'm wondering if it could have broke again somehow..I know when it was healing it wasn't healing correctly and the doc made a comment about maybe needing to rebreak it but nothing ever came of it...so I guess I'll just call the doc on Monday

Answer 1

Get an x ray. A doc can re break it and set it properly.

Answer 2

I unfortunately don't have a particular source, other than reading too many random medical things. Short answer.. yes. You must consider the way the body heals things. Cuts are sealed up with scabs.. platelets in the blood. it's a relatively temporary thing - surface protectant of epithelial tissue. Deeper gashes, however, scar ..with scar tissue. This is because you need to heal further below, with connective tissue. Scars heal differently than scabs, even though they are essentially the same thing.
Similarly, ..including in the case of a broken bone (or blunt trauma, for that matter), the body gets swollen around an injury. This is primarily pressure. I don't really know which direction that goes... the theory, I assume, is that the pressure is there to act as a cushion to prevent the area from further injury. Nerve endings are more susceptable to pain, thereby making a person wince in surface pain before (usually) having a chance to actually injure the deeper injury.

..Sorry for the long digressions. But, in any case. Bones. Bones can break for many reasons. Bones heal in various ways. They heal in the same ways they form and maintain, I assume. Like, older people lose bone density. And healed bones tend to be brittle. Small children break a bone and there is great concern that it will stunt the growth of that limb. Orthopedists are there to make sure the muscles and other connective tissue around the bone help the process or join in the proper healing. Not all bones heal quite right. Microfractures, in particular, tend to ..heal as if one put spackle on top of the cracks. ..Some cracks never go away or..new stresses (including pulled muscles, etc ..which can be very minor and happen while sleeping and whatnot) cause pain.
Minor swelling would have the same result. Could be allergies. Could be fever/heat. Could be water retention. ...I think Ibuprofen [Advil] and Acetomenophin [Tylenol] both reduce swelling. Keep in mind, ibuprofen is a blood thinner, also. So in the case of just trying to treat reduction of swelling, ..yeah. ...Of course, you should see an actual physician or reflexologist or orthopedist or whatever.
-maido ari~bang.

Answer 3

You'll have to have an Xray to be sure, but I've watched Discovery channel shows about this and they say that after a few years the bone is completely healed, as if the break never occurred. With sprains it's a bit different...they permanently weaken the connective tissue and it can cause problems or become sore later on. Could this be the case for you?

Answer 4

You can rebreak a broken bone. Are you sure the weather isn't giving you "phantom pains"? Sometimes an old injury will hurt when rain is coming.

Answer 5

i think of I even have never had a broken bone, Or have I? overwhelmed thumb and partial amputation, i assume that must be stated as broken bone. I did fall from a top and elect a cane to stroll yet did no longer wreck something.

Answer 6

Sounds like a weather change to me....you may have this the rest of your life, very common in old bone breaks...sort of a low predictor? I think you would know if you hit your arm hard enough to fracture it. Good luck

Answer 7

You sure can, but usually it takes an injury at least as bad as the one previous.
Usually it is just arthritis or the weather that affects the point where you broke your arm at, and causes it to ache.
If it really hurts, go in and get it rexrayed... check it out to make sure you didn't reinjure yourself..
if it is just achy try NSAIDS, and ICe.

Answer 8

It's possible for it to break again but you would have to have hurt it in some way. Some people will always have pain and others won't. Check with your doctor if the pain persists.

Answer 9

you need to talk to your doctor, as a break usually heals harder than original bone, but it could get an infection in the bone.

Answer 10

http://www.arthritis.org/resources/arthritistoday/2003_archives/2003_09_10_oncall_p4.asp