Verywell / Brianna Gilmartin
What Causes the Pain?
Swelling, orinflammation, sets in right after a fracture.
How Long Does a Fracture Take to Heal?
Verywell / Brianna Gilmartin
Let your healthcare provider know about any unexplained return to the acute pain phase.
You may still be on pain medication, but it may be a lower dosage or a weaker drug.
The connective tissues get stiff and the muscles lose strength.
You may also lose bone mass.
If it’s your leg, you may feel like it won’t support you.
If all goes well, your bone will heal and your soft tissues will recover.
Remember those nerves that sprouted during the acute phase?
After a proper recovery, they should stop sending those signals and the lingering pain will go away.
However, that doesn’t happen in all cases.
How Long Does a Bone Hurt After Healing?
Oftentimes, a fully healed bone doesn’t hurt.
Chronic Pain
When pain continues beyond the sub-acute phase, it’s calledchronic pain.
Chronic pain may be triggered by:
What Is Central Sensitization?
They can help you find effective ways to treat the underlying problem and manage your pain.
Some treatments for osteoporosis are known to have this effect.
Contact your healthcare provider if:
Summary
Broken bones typically take at least six weeks to heal.
Pain, while the broken bone heals, is normal and will get better as it mends.
you might manage pain by resting the broken bone and taking medications as recommended by your healthcare provider.
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Osteoporosis Canada.General information about pain after a fracture.
Cleveland Clinic.Acute pain vs chronic pain.
2019;27(7):e330-e336.
doi:10.5435/JAAOS-D-17-00727
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: OrthoInfo.Infections after fracture.
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.Infections after fracture.
