Long-Term Effects of a Bone Fracture
With the help of modern medicine, healing a broken bone is much more routine than it used to be. However, even with today’s hospitals, some fractures can still negatively affect your health.
Nerve Damage
When a bone is seriously damaged, nerves can be crushed, stretched, or bruised. While nerve damage typically heals on its own, it can take a long time, from weeks to years, depending on the severity of the injury.
Symptoms of nerve damage include numbness or tingling in the affected area, muscle weakness (especially in arms and legs), sharp pains in your extremities, an unpleasant buzzing sensation akin to electric shock, and regularly dropping things you’re holding without meaning to.
Decreased Strength
Even after healing completely, sometimes a bone that has been broken will never be back to the way it used to be. You may struggle to do things that used to be simple for you because the affected area just isn’t as strong as it used to be.
You may find that you cannot participate in activities you used to perform or enjoy, which can negatively impact your mental health and overall quality of life.
Chronic Pain
You may find that the bone you’ve broken, even after it’s healed, still causes your aches and pains that never fully go away. You may need to start using daily over-the-counter pain medications such as Advil or Tylenol or start using them more than you used to.
Chronic pain can result from nerve damage, the creation of scar tissue, the development of arthritis, and often indicates an issue with the healing process.
Joint Problems
Bone fractures often occur with other injuries. When a bone is broken or fractured, the tissues surrounding it, such as muscles, joints, and ligaments, are usually also damaged. When a bone fracture causes injuries to the cartilage at the tips of the bone, the area can scar and cause osteoarthritis.
Osteoarthritis can cause debilitating stiffness and a limited range of motion. Joint problems are commonly reported in shoulders, elbows, and knees following bone fractures. Other symptoms of joint problems include swelling, numbness, loud joints, pain, and loss of motion.
Detriments to Mental Health
Physical injuries, especially more severe ones, can harm your mental health. Depending on how you got your injury and its subsequent impacts on your life, you may find yourself experiencing depression, anxiety, stress, and trauma-related nightmares.
If you find that your mental health is declining following an injury, don’t ignore it. Healing your body takes both physical and psychological energy, and your mental health deserves to be addressed so you can heal completely.
Finding the Right Attorney for Your Personal Injury Case
If you have broken or fractured a bone due to someone else’s negligence, don’t let anyone minimize your experience. Broken bones can have long-term negative effects on your physical health, and personal injury cases can negatively affect your mental health. You deserve to be heard and compensated.
Greenstein & Milbauer, LLP is here to ensure you won’t be a victim twice. Call us today and tell us your story at 1-800-VICTIM2 (842-8462).
