In regards to bone breaks and fractures, the term non-union refers to a break or fracture that is not able to heal and is classified as a fracture that provides no indications of healing for at least three months and continues to be not yet healed for at least nine months. This means that associated symptoms and pain of a fracture will continue to persist throughout this time, sometimes even for years if treatment is not sought. Symptoms can include persisting pain until the fracture has been sufficiently treated and healed, or pain that is only experienced at the time of injury and then when the bone that incurred the damage is being used, as well as deformation of the limb or joint surrounding the injury. This type of fracture is more likely to occur in patients who are elderly, often older than 70 years of age, and can be due to a number of reasons.

The most common cause of a non-union fracture is if there is something actually impeding the body’s ability to heal, such as the fractured bone lacking in blood flow, stability from treatment, including surgical stability, or if an infection has developed at the site of the fracture. They also occur more frequently in bone breaks that are high-energy, severe injuries that often take place with high-impact care accidents, as this can cause the break to be so severe that blood supply to the broken bone is completely impaired. Some factors that are associated with increasing the risk of future fractures being non-union include being elderly, having diabetes, an untreated infection, severe anemia, or regularly using nicotine or tobacco, which can all interfere with the body’s healing abilities. A fracture may also not be able to heal properly if medical attention has not been sought to ensure that the damaged bone is sufficiently stabilized.

Leaving a non-union fracture untreated will most likely lead to continuous pain as the injured bone can no longer be used properly, with this pain often persisting until proper treatment is sought. It is unlikely that the fracture will heal on its own, and will most likely require a surgical procedure as treatment in order to restore functionality to the damaged bone and to finally reduce the pain that the injury was causing. Leaving any injury untreated will likely lead to more invasive treatments and surgeries required to undo all of the continued damage that had progressed since the injury occurred, with some patients who have non-union fractures that were left untreated requiring bone grafts, which will either be created using small pieces of bone that are harvested from the patient themselves or from a cadaver, or commercially-produced bone-like substances, to allow the patient’s body to grow new bone cells to replace the damaged bone that has been left behind from the injury. As with all injuries, it is highly recommended that proper treatment is sought as quickly as possible to prevent the development of complications and also to just ensure that you are not suffering from any unnecessary discomfort or pain as much as possible. It is possible for properly treated fractures to become non-union, in which case a different method of treatment may be required to support the healing process.

A typical bone fracture will take around 8 to 12 weeks to fully heal, so anything that takes longer than 3 months to even start the healing process and 9 months to still be in the process of healing will be considered a malunion or a non-union fracture. Once the fracture has been diagnosed as non-union, there are several different treatment options that may be recommended depending on the severity of the fracture and the health of the patient, meaning that there is really no predictable timeline that can be provided in general. The physician handling the non-union fracture case and who is providing the treatments will be able to provide a more accurate timeline for healing to each individual patient once all other factors have been taken into account. Visit Specialty Medical Center to get comprehensive and specialized care. We serve patients from Sterling Heights MI, Dearborn MI, Detroit MI, Birmingham MI, Allen Park MI, Warren MI, and BEYOND!