# Fractured vs. Broken: Is there a difference? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 24, 2008, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fractured-vs-broken-is-there-a-difference/464985 "2008-09-24T14:27:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fractured-vs-broken-is-there-a-difference/464985/1 "2008-09-24T14:27:20Z")
My BIL fell off is bike and fractured his pelvis in 3 places. Is there a difference between a break and a fracture medically? I always thought it was the same thing, but laypeople correct me every time I use “break” in place of “fracture.” Anyone? ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fractured-vs-broken-is-there-a-difference/464985/2 "2008-09-24T14:31:51Z")
In everyday usage (not medical professionals) I believe that “fracture” could mean that the bone is cracked but still in one piece. “Broken” would suggest that the bone is in two or more pieces. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fractured-vs-broken-is-there-a-difference/464985/3 "2008-09-24T14:39:38Z")
> [@](#): > > While many people believe that a fracture is a “hairline break,” or a certain type of broken bone, this is not true. A fracture and a broken bone are the same thing! [http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/brokenbones/g/fracture.htm](http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/brokenbones/g/fracture.htm) > [@](#): > > there is no difference between the terms break and fracture > **[Johns Hopkins Family Health Book](https://books.google.com/books?id=ctgRvpcgd9sC&pg=PA664&dq=difference+between+fracture+and+break+bone&client=firefox-a&sig=ACfU3U386J-VRHLyjC55j7TXjId0WxNRyw)** > > America's #1 Medical Authority on Call at your Fingertips When you need the absolute best in health care, John Hopkins is the institute ranked #1 year after year. And when you want answers fast, turn to the Johns Hopkins Family Health Book for the... ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fractured-vs-broken-is-there-a-difference/464985/4 "2008-09-24T14:48:14Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > I always thought it was the same thing, but laypeople correct me every time I use “break” in place of “fracture.” Do you mean you say “He broke his pelvis in three places” and they say “Don’t you mean, 'he fractured his pelvis in three places”? If so, the correct response is, “[censored] you.” ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fractured-vs-broken-is-there-a-difference/464985/5 "2008-09-24T15:28:29Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Do you mean you say “He broke his pelvis in three places” and they say “Don’t you mean, 'he fractured his pelvis in three places”? > > If so, the correct response is, “[censored] you.” Thank you. I’ll have to soften my response to “phuck you” since they’re family. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fractured-vs-broken-is-there-a-difference/464985/6 "2008-09-24T16:04:45Z")
Hairline fracture seems like a crack where the bones is still in one place. Compound fracture is broken bone pushing through the skin. So “fracture” seems to run the gamut of severity and would refer to a broken bone. That said, they should know what you mean by broke and not nitpick. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fractured-vs-broken-is-there-a-difference/464985/7 "2008-09-24T16:15:14Z")
Since the OP has been answered, I’ll throw in an anecdote. Playing rugby, we get banged up a lot. Most of them are not serious injuries, but many warrant missing a practice or two. Common parlance is to say “I busted my ankle,” even if it’s just a slight sprain. After getting so used to using ‘busted’ as a replacement for “hurt”, I was talking to my mom on the phone. Mom: Are you playing tomorrow? Me: No, I busted my knee. Mom: Oh, no! Are you okay? Did you go to the hospital! She knows I get banged up all the time, she just thought when I said “busted” that I meant “shattered” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fractured-vs-broken-is-there-a-difference/464985/8 "2008-09-24T16:20:04Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Thank you. I’ll have to soften my response to “phuck you” since they’re family. Don’t you mean ‘_copulate_ you’? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fractured-vs-broken-is-there-a-difference/464985/9 "2008-09-24T16:24:58Z")
> [@Staggerlee](#): > > Don’t you mean ‘_copulate_ you’? Not with a pelvis fractured in three places! ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fractured-vs-broken-is-there-a-difference/464985/10 "2008-09-24T16:26:24Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Hairline fracture seems like a crack where the bones is still in one place. Compound fracture is broken bone pushing through the skin. So “fracture” seems to run the gamut of severity and would refer to a broken bone. > > That said, they should know what you mean by broke and not nitpick. As others have said, “fracture” is a term used in medicine. It is typically used with one or more adjectives/modifiers to describe the exact location and geometry of the lesion. It can get complicated, as in “a minimally displaced proximal third tibial fracture with a single butterfly segment”. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fractured-vs-broken-is-there-a-difference/464985/11 "2008-09-24T16:30:35Z")
“The comedian broke me up.” “The comedian fractured me.” Same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fractured-vs-broken-is-there-a-difference/464985/12 "2008-09-24T21:13:49Z")
When my dad was still with the Washington State Patrol, he shared an anecdote about responding to an accident scene. When one of the victims was told she had a fractured leg she asked, “What’s the difference between a fracture and a break?” She was happily reassured when told that, while a break takes six weeks to heal, a fracture only takes 42 days. ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fractured-vs-broken-is-there-a-difference/464985/13 "2008-09-24T23:18:22Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > Hairline fracture seems like a crack where the bones is still in one place. Compound fracture is broken bone pushing through the skin. So “fracture” seems to run the gamut of severity and would refer to a broken bone. > > That said, they should know what you mean by broke and not nitpick. Just to throw in some more [possibly unneeded] information, there is also a micro-fracture. It happens when the bone gets hit and the surface of the bone breaks but the break doesn’t go all of the way through. It’s kind of like when a BB hits a pane of glass or a star crack in a windshield. It results in internal bleeding and pain. While not as debilitating as a hairline fracture it takes as long to heal. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2008, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fractured-vs-broken-is-there-a-difference/464985/14 "2008-09-24T23:30:25Z")
The correct response to “he broke his pelvis in three places” is “he should stay out of those places!”