Significance of fractures and dislocations
Fractures
(breaks) and dislocations are failures of the skeleton to cope with the loads
put upon it. When they do occur there are other structures which can also fail
which may not be so obvious but which may have much more serious consequences.
After the initial trauma, tissues tend to spring back into place. Nerves and
blood vessels may also have been stretched far beyond their physiological limit
at the time of trauma. If the nerve has been disrupted and the ends have
separated, surgery may improve the prognosis dramatically. If the blood supply
to that limb has been disrupted, then it is a surgical emergency to restore that
circulation (Fig. 21.1).