Greenstick fracture

A green stick fracture (after the buckling behavior of green, soft wood ) is an incomplete fracture in which the bone enveloping elastic skin ( periosteum ) is preserved or only tear at the convex side. It is a so-called bending fracture.

This type of fracture is used mainly in the long bones ( arms and leg bones ) in front of those still in the growth of children and adolescents because their bone is not yet fully cured. In 25% of forearm shaft fractures in children are greenstick fractures.

A part of the bone may yield to the force by elastic deformation, while another part (usually the knick- external, see figure) due to the larger tensile strain breaks, with the bone to split the region between stretched and broken part along.

If the fractional shift not against each other, which leads mostly to a favorable healing the periosteum intact ( subperiosteal fracture).

The treatment of greenstick fracture with axis error requires either the breaking of the opposite cortex, in order to convert the fracture in a tension-free state, or the reliable compression of the convex side is ensured. With the latter measure, a primary stable fracture but in an unstable fracture are transferred, resulting in an indication for surgical treatment results.