A bone fracture is defined as a break in the continuity of the bone which might be both complete or incomplete fracture. Bones are usually healthy and strong framework of protein called collagen along with minerals such as calcium phosphate and they sustain us with movement etc. “However, due to some form of trauma, vitamin A deficiency, low bone density, or being old bone fractures can occur.” Says Dr. Ratnav Ratan who is one of the best orthopedic doctor in Gurgaon.
Bone fractures can lead to tears in blood vessels that carry nutrients to the bone which will cause severe pain & some other problems as well. However, our body obviously has some mechanism to repair bone fractures. Dr. Mukesh Mahajan who is one of the best general physician in Pune says that we can actually speed up the recovery process by making some changes in our diet. We will be looking into that as well but before going into that let’s have a clear idea about the fracture & how it is classified.
Classification
According to orthopedists, bone fractures can be categorized into four parts. It can be classified by the position of the bone ends after a fracture, can be classified by the completeness of the fracture to break, the orientation of the break, or whether the bone ends penetrate the skin.
- So the position of the bone ends can be classified into two types. In nondisplaced the bone position does not move. However in displaced the bone moves.
- The completeness of the break essentially means whether the bone is completely fractured or incompletely fractured so whether it incompletely doesn’t break off or it completely breaks off.
- The orientation of the break means that whether the fracture is on a vertical axis or a horizontal axis also known as linear or transverse
- Classification can be done on the basis of penetration of the skin. A fracture that penetrates the skin will cause a compound fracture one that does not penetrate the skin will cause a simple
Diet For Bone Fracture
Well, the diet completely depends on what bone has fractured, the type of bone, and whether it has some associated complicated injuries along with the main fracture. In presence of some injuries and the age of the person also matters. So in childhood, the fracture heals very quickly but as the age advances it takes a little longer and mostly the nutrients that we get in childhood are the foundation for future life. So you have to see that you know if the child gets proper nutrition. If the child is deficient in some nutrients then he has more chances of slow fracture recovery. These days most of the children are born deficient in so many minerals and vitamins and nutrients. So when the person has a fracture, he or she has to include more calcium-rich food in the diet. But calcium alone will not be absorbed. if your body is missing some nutrients like magnesium for example.
You have to take more magnesium and vitamin D and calcium. These nutrients come from all the sources like milk, paneer, cheese, buttermilk, etc, and green leafy vegetables. Along with these, some fruits and some vegetables, legumes, grains also contain a little amount of calcium. However, milk and milk products containthe maximum calcium but milk alone is not sufficient to fulfill the need for calcium. To fulfill the total calcium need with milk one needs to drink plenty of milk & drinking that much milk is notpossible for anybody. So it’sbetter toadd somesupplements to ensure sufficient calcium intake and also teens and childrenare deficient in vitamin D these dayssince they don’t play outside or don’tspend time outside in the Sun. So it isbetter to provide a supplement to fulfill the need.
Things to do for faster recovery
Two of the biggest things that you can start off with is decreasing alcohol and decreasing your salt intake. Decreasing alcohol intake is going to help your body overall heal better. The inflammation process isn’t going to be as harsh as well as you’re going to be a little bit more stable on your feet. So say you’re healing from a broken bone or any kind of joint damage even just a little instability can cause that healing to be a little bit slow. So that’s one of the most important things to do. However, it doesn’t mean you have to take itcompletely out but definitely limit it.
A decrease in your salt intake it’s going to help your body absorb calcium which is the most important aspect of bone health. So those are two things that you can do to increase the speed of recovery.
Another thing that you can do is to increase your protein intake. Protein is pretty much 50 percent of your bones. So that’s also going to help with calcium absorption which we already mentioned is the most important mineral that’s involved with bones.
So the next thing you do is add calcium into it. However, taking a heavy dose of calcium tablets or supplements is not recommended at all. We recommend including calcium-rich food in your diet to speed up the recovery process.
