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How do broken bones heal?

Solar22
/
istock

Why do we have bones? How do they grow–and how do they know when to stop growing? How many do we have in our bodies? And when we break our bones, how do they heal? What do casts do? And how do you know if you’ve broken a bone? Broken bones are a common occurrence in kids. Up to 40% of girls and up to 50% of boys will break a bone in their lifetime. In this episode, we learn about the role of bones in our body and how to deal with a fractured bone with Melissa Raddatz, a family nurse practitioner at Duke Health System in North Carolina. The first part of this episode is all about bones in general, and we shift to broken bones for the second half.

Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript

  • Bones give our body its structure and they also help us do things like move and jump. 
  • Bones have another important function - that’s where our body makes our blood cells!
  • Blood cells are made in the center of some of our bones, a liquid part called the marrow. The marrow is encased by a hard spongy bone structure and even harder compact bone surrounds that. The hard parts of bones are made of minerals like calcium, protein and collagen. The very outside of your bone has a layer called the periosteum, a very thin layer with nerves and blood vessels.
  • When you are young, your bones have squishy growth plates that help the bones continue to grow bigger. By the time you’re an adult, the growth plates will harden into solid bone and stop growing.
  • Adults usually have 206 bones, but babies are born with 270 bones! Some of our bones fuse together as we grow. (You’ll reach that 206 number by about age 25.)
  • Bones can crack and break when a force is placed on them that is more than they can withstand. If a doctor suspects a bone is broken, they will do an X-ray. X-rays allow us to see what’s going on inside the body. They do not hurt. 
  • Bones can often heal themselves.The bone will send more blood-carrying nutrients to the area where the fracture is and will eventually form a callus. The marrow will also help form the callus. Younger people heal more quickly than older people and a break could heal in 4-6 weeks. 
  • But sometimes a doctor or medical professional needs to intervene to make sure the bone heals in the right shape. They sometimes add supports, like a cast or a boot, to hold the bones in the right place. Sometimes, if a break is severe, doctors will do surgery to place supports inside the body that can hold the bone in place. 
Jane Lindholm is the host, executive producer and creator of But Why: A Podcast For Curious Kids. In addition to her work on our international kids show, she produces special projects for Vermont Public. Until March 2021, she was host and editor of the award-winning Vermont Public program Vermont Edition.
Kianna Haskin worked for Vermont Public from 2021 to 2024 and served as the Engagement Producer for But Why.
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