A member of SingMed Specialists Clinic
Knee fracture can cause severe knee pain and difficulty walking. Some of the more common symptoms of this injury include:
“The knee can fracture in many ways. A fracture may be a simple, clean, two-piece break or the bone can break into many pieces.”
During the exam, our Specialist will check for hemarthrosis. In this condition, blood from the fractured bone ends collects inside the joint space, causing painful swelling. If you have a large amount of blood in your knee, our doctor may drain it to help relieve your pain.
Our Orthopaedic Specialist will also order x-rays to help diagnose your fracture.
The treatment of knee fracture depends entirely on the cause of the problem. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that you understand the cause of your symptoms before embarking on a treatment program. If you are unsure of your diagnosis, or the severity of your condition, you should seek medical advice before beginning any treatment.
If the pieces of bone are not out of place (displaced), you may not need surgery. Our Specialist may apply a cast or splint to keep your knee straight and help prevent motion in your leg. This will keep the broken ends of bone in proper position while they heal.
Depending upon your specific fracture, you may be allowed to bear weight on your leg while wearing a cast or brace. With some fractures, however, weight bearing is not allowed for 6 to 8 weeks. Our doctor will talk with you about restrictions on weight bearing.
If the pieces of bone are out of place (displaced), you will most likely need surgery. Fractured patellar bones that are not close together often have difficulty healing or may not heal. The thigh muscles that attach to the top of the patella are very strong and can pull the broken pieces out of place during healing.
If the skin around your fracture has not been broken, our surgeon may recommend waiting until any abrasions have healed before having surgery.
One treatment is by having an incision is made over the front of the knee joint. The fractured ends of the bone are realigned and held in place with some combination of pins, screws, and wires. In some cases, a portion of the patella can simply be removed, but this is usually done for smaller fracture fragments.
Call our Specialists!