Hip Fractures: Mechanism Of Injury

Courtesy: Prof Nabil Ebraheim, University of Toledo, Ohio, USA

Mechanism of injury of Hip fractures

• Low energy fracture occurs in the elderly from a fall onto the greater trochanter.
• The fall in elderly is different than a fall in the young. The older patient has a less protective reflexes while younger patient has better protective reflexes during a fall.
• In the younger groups wrist fracture is more common than hip fracture since the young will try to protect themselves by falling on the wrist.
• High energy fractures occurs in both the young and elderly from either a fall or by a car accident.
• Stress fractures can occur in athletes and insufficiency fractures can occur in the elderly and it is usually an occult fracture