If you’ve been in an accident and think you may have suffered a fracture, pay close attention to the following symptoms:
- Extreme pain – Any break, even a finger or a toe, will be extremely painful to the touch or if you attempt to move it even slightly. This pain is quite distinctive.
- Swelling – When a bone breaks, the tissue around it is damaged as well, and may begin to swell.
- Bruising – When a bone breaks and severs a vein or an artery, blood will pool under the skin, forming a bruise.
- Bleeding – In a compound fracture, where the bone punctures the skin, the bleeding is obvious. However, bleeding can also occur internally, which is why you must be wary of any discoloration of the skin.
- Deformity – When a bone breaks, the limb loses its natural shape. This is usually quite apparent.
- Inability to move – As noted above, extreme pain that prevents you from being able to move even slightly can be a symptom of a broken bone.
