Our Experienced Personal Injury Attorneys Explain Some Important Facts You Should Know If You Hurt Your Pelvis or Hips In An Accident
An injury to the pelvis or hips can be severely disabling. These types of injuries can happen as a result of a blunt impact, severe twisting motion or even the compression type motion that is common when a malfunctioning elevator comes to a high speed abrupt stop. Injuries to the hips are also common in trip and fall accidents, as well as car accidents. Regardless of how you injured your hip or pelvis, here are some of the basics you should know.
The Anatomy of A Healthy Pelvis and Hip
The pelvis is a structure of bones which support and balances the torso, contains and protects the internal organs and serves as the attachment point for the femur, the biggest bone in the human body. Because of the importance of the pelvis and hip, injuries to either of them can be very serious.
Each side of the hip is made of three parts, the ilium, ischium and pubis. The two hip bones connect in the center to the sacrum at the sacroiliac joints. By adulthood these bones have fused together to provide extra stability. Collectively, this structure forms the pelvic girdle. The pelvis is composed of the hip bones, the sacrum where they connect in the center, and the coccyx. Multiple ligaments help keep the pelvis stable. They connect the sacrum to the ilium, the sacrum and the ischial spine, and the sacrum to the ischial tuberosity. There are areas where the anatomy slightly differs between women and men. For example, women have a wider and shallower pelvis to allow for childbirth.
Common Pelvis and Hip Injuries Caused by Accidents
Hip fractures occur when the upper part of the femur bone is broken. If the force pushes the femoral head out of the joint’s socket, then the joint is also dislocated. A pelvis fracture occurs when any bone of the pelvis is broken. These types of fractures can also involve damage to nearby bones as well as the organs that the pelvis protects. These injuries commonly cause intense pain in the hip region, swelling, redness and bruising of the skin.
Treatments For Your Pelvis and Hip Injury
If you have injured your pelvis or hip, you will need to keep weight off the injured side for a number of weeks. During this period, you will need to use crutches and a wheelchair. Over the counter pain-medication can help with pain management. Occasionally doctors will recommend bone-stimulation through electronic or ultrasonic methods as a potential non-surgical intervention to help with healing.
There are various types of surgery that may be necessary, depending on the type and location of the fracture and the repair needed. Open reduction and internal fixation surgery, for example, is necessary when the fracture is unstable. This procedure uses fixation devices to stabilize the fracture. These devices keep the fractured bone in place while it heals.
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If you have any questions concerning the accident that caused your hip injury, you can contact our experienced personal injury attorneys for a free consultation, by calling (800) 762-9300. You can also get started by simply filling out one of our case intake forms, and we will have one of our attorneys get right back to you.