Written for parents — find your child's fracture below to understand casting, activity limits, and what recovery typically looks like.
Select a fracture below to see how it's commonly treated — including immobilization, weight-bearing or limb use, when motion begins, and typical recovery milestones.
Every fracture is different. These guides describe general treatment patterns. Your surgeon will tailor your care based on your specific fracture pattern, displacement, age, bone quality, and any associated injuries.
A Galeazzi fracture involves a break in the forearm bone (radius) along with an injury to the joint where the ...
Read GuideThis describes a fracture of both forearm bones (radius and ulna) together. Because younger bones remodel and ...
Read GuideThis describes a fracture of both forearm bones (radius and ulna) together in an older child or pre-teen, who ...
Read GuideAn elastic (flexible) nail is a smooth, bendable metal rod placed inside the bone to hold a forearm fracture i...
Read GuideAvoid pulling or swinging a young child by the hands or forearms.
Read GuideA buckle (torus) fracture is a stable, minor bend or buckle in the bone rather than a full break — one of the ...
Read GuideA greenstick fracture is a partial break where the bone bends and cracks on one side, similar to a green tree ...
Read GuideThis fracture involves the growth plate — the area of developing cartilage near the end of a child's bone. Gro...
Read GuideAssess nail plate, nail bed, skin integrity, and tetanus status. Open nail-bed injuries may require irrigation...
Read GuideEven brief DIP flexion can disrupt early healing and may restart the splinting timeline.
Read GuideAvoid prolonged rigid immobilization because PIP stiffness can become the dominant problem.
Read GuideLoss of active DIP flexion after forced finger extension is a tendon avulsion until proven otherwise.
Read GuideA central slip injury can look minor early and declare itself later as a boutonnière deformity.
Read GuideExamine the finger cascade and nail alignment with active flexion.
Read GuideAcceptable angulation depends on the metacarpal, but clinical rotation must be absent.
Read GuideA Stener lesion prevents the ligament from healing in its normal position.
Read GuideAn elastic (flexible) nail is a smooth, bendable metal rod placed inside the bone to hold a shinbone (tibia) f...
Read GuideThis transitional fracture occurs near physeal closure and is judged by joint congruity.
Read GuideThe fracture crosses three planes and can look deceptively different on each X-ray view.
Read GuideCheck rotation, nail bed, and skin; protect tape with padding.
Read GuideThe great toe is important for balance and push-off, so alignment matters more than in the lesser toes.
Read GuideA limping toddler can have a subtle tibial fracture with initially normal X-rays.
Read Guide