Closed Fracture Treatment in Adults, When is it Still Relevant?

Fracture treatment has been documented since the times of ancient Egyptian and Greek civilization, with fracture reduction techniques and the apparatus for immobilization developed over three millennia. Over the last 150 years, aseptic technique, anesthesia, antibiotics, and internal implants have changed how orthopedic specialists approach fracture care. More recently, there has been an increased promotion in the medical literature to evaluate the clinical outcomes of nonsurgical treatment of common upper and lower extremity closed fractures.

In this paper, the authors review the history of closed extremity fracture treatments, outline contemporary studies regarding treatments of non-displaced fractures, and discuss the recent literature that has informed orthopedic surgeon-patient decision-making discussions regarding closed fracture management.

Based on the results of this literature review, orthopedic providers should consider the preferable outcomes associated with nonoperative fracture management such as lower infection rates, the possibility of rapid functional improvements and lower healthcare costs. Nonoperative methods for closed fractures can sometimes be more safely delivered even with more difficult fractures. This may be of particular benefit to patients with higher surgical risks, minimizing exposure to treatments that are not only more invasive and expensive, but that can impose greater postoperative risks.