Peripheral Nerve Disorders—Fractures

Also called: Broken bone

A fracture is a break, usually in a bone. If the broken bone punctures the skin, it is called an open or compound fracture. Fractures commonly happen because of car accidents, falls, or sports injuries. Other causes are low bone density and osteoporosis, which cause weakening of the bones. Overuse can cause stress fractures, which are very small cracks in the bone.

Symptoms of a fracture are

• Intense pain
• Deformity – the limb looks out of place
• Swelling, bruising, or tenderness around the injury
• Numbness and tingling
• Problems moving a limb

You need to get medical care right away for any fracture. An x-ray can tell if your bone is broken. You may need to wear a cast or splint. Sometimes you need surgery to put in plates, pins or screws to keep the bone in place.

• Broken bone (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Closed reduction of a fractured bone (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Closed reduction of a fractured bone – aftercare (Medical Encyclopedia)

Also called: Neuritis, Peripheral neuritis, Peripheral neuropathy

Your peripheral nerves are the ones outside your brain and spinal cord. Like static on a telephone line, peripheral nerve disorders distort or interrupt the messages between the brain and the rest of the body.

There are more than 100 kinds of peripheral nerve disorders. They can affect one nerve or many nerves. Some are the result of other diseases, like diabetic nerve problems. Others, like Guillain-Barre syndrome, happen after a virus infection. Still others are from nerve compression, like carpal tunnel syndrome or thoracic outlet syndrome. In some cases, like complex regional pain syndrome and brachial plexus injuries, the problem begins after an injury. Some people are born with peripheral nerve disorders.

Symptoms often start gradually, and then get worse. They include

• Numbness
• Pain
• Burning or tingling
• Muscle weakness
• Sensitivity to touch

Treatment aims to treat any underlying problem, reduce pain and control symptoms.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

• Axillary nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Chronic inflammatory polyneuropathy (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Common peroneal nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Distal median nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Femoral nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Glossopharyngeal neuralgia (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Metabolic neuropathies (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Mononeuritis multiplex (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Neuralgia (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Neuropathy secondary to drugs (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Peripheral neuropathy (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Radial nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Sensorimotor polyneuropathy (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Tibial nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Ulnar nerve dysfunction (Medical Encyclopedia)