How is a fractured hip treated? How long is recovery for hip replacement?
Hip Fractures Why are hip fractures so common in elderly people? The cause is not known. Many patients will say that they sustained the fracture by falling, stumbling or tripping. There is a high probability that the fracture occurred first and the individual fell, stumbled or tripped because of it. Patients have been known to turn over in bed and fracture a hip. Hip fractures have a direct correlation with stresses and strains associated with alteration in the bone structure and blood supply associated with aging. On home consultation, how can you be so sure, without an X ray, that the hip is fractured? Home consultation can show the characteristic deformity of a fractured hip. The ankle is turned out; on direct measurement this leg is now shorter than the opposite one; there is severe pain in the groin and on motion of the hip; and the heel cannot be raised off the bed. An X ray of course is still necessary, for it is possible to have a fractured hip in which th...