A broken bone is not a pleasant experience. Besides the discomfort, it requires careful treatment and leaning on the severity and site of the break, it may also require surgical intervention. However, once you have been provided appropriate care, the therapeutic process can start in earnest, and your body will require as much support in healing as possible. This implies allowing for sufficient rest, nutritional assistance, and lifestyle changes, like quitting tobacco use or bypassing specific actions until after your physician informs you it is okay to resume regular activity.
The foremost thing you need to comprehend is that bones mend in different stages. During the initial phase, your bone, which is a living tissue, develops a blood clot around the impaired ends of the bone. Next, there are distinct cells, called phagocytes (Latin for eating), that the clot contains. These cells pursue and ingest bacteria, tending the bone from the inside. Then, in the second stage, a soft callus, formed primarily out of collagen, is constructed by another distinct set of cells, known as chondroblasts to guard and help mend the broken bone. This stage typically lasts anywhere from four days to a few weeks.
In the third phase, the callus evolves to be much harder and more durable. Next, osteoblasts, or bone-forming cells, produce new bone by adding minerals. This phase begins between six weeks to twelve weeks from the moment of the fracture. Finally, during the very last phase, the bone is buffed and refurbished by cells called osteoclasts, which gradually return the bone to its original shape. Many individuals are oblivious that this unique phase can take three to nine years to complete.