Breaking a bone sounds painful, and make no mistake, it typically is a painful ordeal to go through. Yet, it can be amazingly difficult sometimes to tell whether or not you have sustained a break in your bones after an injury. Yet, knowing whether or not you actually injured your bones is important so that you can go see a health care specialist right away to ensure that your bones heal properly.

Your bones are made out of strong bone tissue. They are not easy to damage, yet damage is possible. Just like any other tough material, like wood, if enough force is applied to your bones, they could buckle under the pressure. That means that after a particularly nasty fall, your bones could be in trouble. Yet, it is not advisable to go rushing to your doctor’s office after every bump or slip – not only will it be costly, but you could risk being exposed to too much radiation from the x ray machines that are used to look at your bones. Instead, if an injury has occurred and you are unsure about whether or not you should go to the hospital, look for some tell-tale signs of broken bones.

Broken bones come in several different varieties. A complete fracture is when a bone snaps completely into two pieces. A greenstick fracture is when a bone cracks on one side, but the crack does not reach the other side of the bone. A single fracture is when the bone is broken only in one place. A comminuted fracture is when a bone is broken into multiple pieces, or is crushed. To determine whether or not you have indeed sustained a broken bone, pay attention to the cues your body is sending. If you black out, feel cold, nauseas, or dizzy, then it is likely that you did some real damage to your bones because those symptoms could be your body’s reaction to the shock of such an injury. In addition, you may experience a deep aching feeling, similar to a headache or stomachache in the area where you are hurt if your bone was broken.

If you do not experience any of these symptoms and can get up and move around, still be wary of how your injured area feels. If the pain feels like it is radiating from the injured site to the rest of your body, go seek medical help right away.