Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Why hip fractures in the elderly are often a death sentence

The news an elderly relative has broken a hip tends to sound alarm bells, perhaps more than breaking another bone would. That's because a hip fracture dramatically increases an older person's risk of death.

Arthritis & Rheumatism

New evidence that steroid injections of hip and knee may damage joints

Corticosteroid injections used to treat osteoarthritis pain in the hip and knee may be more dangerous than previously thought, according to a special report published in the journal Radiology. Researchers suggested that injection-associated ...

Health

Proof that magnesium could prevent fractures

Magnesium could hold the key to preventing one of the most preventable causes of disability in middle-aged to elderly people, according to new research led by academics at the Universities of Bristol and Eastern Finland.

Gerontology & Geriatrics

Osteoporosis detection by a simple physical function test

Osteoporosis is a condition that does not exhibit symptoms until there is a bone fracture, so a large percentage of patients remain unaware of their condition. When people are unaware their bones have weakened, the condition ...

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Fracture

A fracture is the (local) separation of an object or material into two, or more, pieces under the action of stress.

The word fracture is often applied to bones of living creatures (that is, a bone fracture), or to crystals or crystalline materials, such as gemstones or metal. Sometimes, in crystalline materials, individual crystals fracture without the body actually separating into two or more pieces. Depending on the substance which is fractured, a fracture reduces strength (most substances) or inhibits transmission of light (optical crystals).

A detailed understanding of how fracture occurs in materials may be assisted by the study of fracture mechanics.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA