How Do You Know if It’s a Fracture or a Sprain?

Even if you’re not into pole vaulting, tennis, or contact sports, there’s a good chance that you’ve experienced a sprained ankle, knee, or wrist and wondered if it was something more serious—possibly a broken bone. When one of these joints is injured, the pain can be excruciating, and you may be alarmed at the sight of bruising and swelling. So, how do you know if it’s a fracture or a sprain? And when do you need to seek medical treatment for a joint injury?

To answer these questions, it helps to consider the role of movable joints and why they’re able to perform it.

Anatomy of a Movable Joint

A joint is an area where two or more bones meet. Not all joints in the body allow the bones to move, but the joints in the ankles, knees, wrists, hips, shoulders, and elbows do. These joints are made up of several types of body tissue, including ligaments, bones, cartilage, tendons, and others. All of these joint components work together to allow you to perform everyday activities that most people take for granted, including walking, running, sitting, typing, and even popping open an umbrella.

Bones and ligaments are the two types of body tissue in question when it comes to determining whether an injury is a fracture or a sprain. Bones contain mostly collagen and calcium phosphate, which together create the strong, hard tissue that’s needed for body stability. Ligaments are bands of fibrous tissue that connect bones. They provide joint stability, and they’re also distinguished by their elasticity—their ability to stretch and then return to their original shape. It’s this characteristic that allows ankles, knees, and wrists to bend and rotate as required for movement.

When a bone cracks or breaks, that’s considered a fracture. A bone fracture can mean a tiny hairline crack, a separation of the bone into two pieces, or even a shattering of the bone into fragments.

A sprain, on the other hand, refers to an injury in which the ligament is overstretched or torn. This type of injury is fairly common and can occur when walking or running on an uneven surface, twisting a joint in an awkward manner, falling, or receiving a blow to the joint.

When to See a Doctor for a Fracture or Sprain

The symptoms of sprains and fractures are often similar—usually including pain and swelling—and you may require X-ray imaging to get an accurate diagnosis. Generally, a fracture is a serious injury that requires immediate medical treatment, while sprains will often heal on their own with rest, applications of ice packs, and the use of anti-inflammatory pain medication. However, some severe sprains can also require medical treatment.

Here are a few questions to ask that can help distinguish a fracture from a sprain:

• Does the joint appear misshapen or deformed?
• Do you feel pain when touching the bone as opposed to a softer part of the joint?
• Is there tingling or numbness in addition to or instead of pain?
• Did you hear a cracking or popping sound when the injury occurred?
• Are you unable to move your wrist or walk on your injured ankle or knee?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, there’s a good chance that you’re experiencing a fracture and should visit a doctor right away. If your symptoms indicate you have a sprain instead, you can treat your injury with home remedies. If you don’t notice improvement within a day or two, it’s a good idea to seek medical treatment.

Cape Regional Urgent Care Is Ready to Help

Sprains, fractures, and muscle strains are among the many non-life-threatening injuries we treat at Cape Regional Urgent Care. If you live in Cape May County, New Jersey, you can turn to one of our three walk-in clinics for treatment that’s faster and more affordable than visiting an emergency room. Our urgent care locations are staffed and equipped to provide digital X-rays, and we also have an on-site prescription medication dispensary so we can often provide common medications and thereby spare our patients a separate trip to a pharmacy.

We treat walk-in patients of all ages daily, including weekends, and we accept many health insurance plans. Contact Cape Regional Urgent Care today to learn more about the wide variety of nonemergency health care services we offer.