What Are the Treatments for Hip Fractures?

Hip fractures are a common occurrence affecting young and old alike. Ranging from mild, superficial fractures to more severe, significantly-displaced fractures, hip fractures are normally treated surgically. The goal of surgery is to restore the hip joint to its normal anatomy.

Hip Pinning

• Most hip fractures are treated with surgical hip pinning. Hip pinning is a surgical procedure in which metal pins and/or screws are inserted across the fractured areas of the hip bone, thereby stabilizing the fractured bone pieces and holding them in place while they heal.

Non-Weight Bearing/Protected Weight Bearing

• In instances where a hip fracture is very minor or is a hairline, superficial-type of hip fracture, surgery may not be needed. Instead, non-weight bearing, using a wheel chair and/or set of crutches, or protected weight bearing, using a walker or cane, may be all that is needed to lessen the load on the fractured hip joint and facilitate healing.

Total Hip Replacement

• In cases of severe hip fractures and/or hard to repair hip fractures, total hip replacement surgery, or total hip arthroplasty, may be the most viable option for repairing a fractured hip joint. Fractures that have a poor prognosis for adequate recovery with standard hip fracture treatments are often times treated by replacing the entire hip joint.

Partial Hip Replacement

• Depending on the severity and location of a fractured hip joint, many times a partial hip replacement, hemi-arthroplasty, is performed to treat a hip fracture. Many hip fractures are too severe to be treated with surgical pinning but are not so severe that they require a total hip arthroplasty. In these situations, a hemi-arthroplasty is often performed.

Rest/Medication

• Many times hip fractures cannot be treated surgically due to the poor health of the patients. In these situations, the fractures are usually left to heal on their own, with nothing more than medication for pain control and non-weight bearing prescribed to limit pain and improve individual comfort.