“Why do I need another x-ray, if the first one didn’t show anything wrong??”
Answer: The Resorptive Phase of bone healing.
Say what??
Here’s how it goes:
A brand-new fracture that is in *perfect* alignment is invisible on x-ray. Yep, invisible. So the healing process starts with some microscopic blood vessels which grow into the fractured area. That happens right away. These are responsible for bringing in all the good stuff (calcium, Vitamin D and other goodies) that your bone is going to need to heal up. So the first thing the little vessels do is to resorb (take away) just a tiny bit of bone @ the edges of the break. (Nobody is sure why they start this way, but they do). Think about it like a carpenter sanding off 2 boards just a little so they later will fit nicely. If you take another x-ray of this *perfectly* aligned fracture at this point in time, you will see the crack, courtesy of the resorbed bone ends. This resorptive phase is usually seen best on about day 7-10 after the fracture. So now you know!
PS: That resorptive phase happens with virtually *all* fractures, and can look scary if you’re not expecting it!! But remember “it’s just a phase”!!! LOL!!!
Until next time
James Bailey MD
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