The British cyclist injured in a fall during the reconnaissance of the Criterium du Dauphiné Libéré time trial on June 12, suffers from several fractures of the femur, right elbow, internal injuries and several broken ribs.
Dismissed from the Tour de France which will start on July 6, after a serious fall during the recognition of the time trial of the Critérium du Dauphiné Liberated on June 12, Christopher Froome admits that his road to recovery will be “long”. And for good reason.
The British Cyclist suffers from several fractures of the femur, right elbow, internal injuries and several broken ribs. During a six-hour procedure, doctors also noticed vertebral and sternum fractures. “It’s a long road to recovery, but this recovery starts now and I’m fully focused on getting back to my best,” he said on Twitter.
On the road to recovery https://t.co/JnybEgjjQC pic.twitter.com/HiOZi2h7KZ
— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) June 15, 2019
Still hospitalized in intensive care “as a precaution”, according to one of his doctors, Christopher Froome could recover from his injuries within “six months”. Giorgio Gresta, one of his surgeons, confirmed to Gazzetta dello Sport that the cyclist could come back “stronger than ever”. Something to reassure fans of the man who won the Tour de France four times (2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017).
The bone fracture
If the doctors are optimistic it is that Christopher Froome suffers mostly from fractures and that no vital organ has been seriously injured. However, it takes time to “fix” a fractured bone. Bones support bodily structures, protect internal organs, and (in conjunction with muscles) facilitate the movement ; they are also involved in the training of blood cellsthe calcium metabolismand the storage of minerals. There are 206 bones in an adult male.
Contrary to what one might think, they have a certain elasticity. A fracture occurs when it is subjected to a mechanical stress exceeding its plastic deformation threshold. There are two types of bone fracture: the simple fracture, which causes little associated damage (low-energy accident) and the open fracture (high-energy trauma). In both cases, the appropriate treatment is to quickly build bone strength. The type of consolidation and its delay depend on the therapeutic solution chosen (plaster, compression plate, etc).
“Surgical intervention offers mechanically superior stability to that obtained by conservative treatment, notes the Swiss medical journal. It is particularly indicated when the functional prognosis depends on a strict anatomical reduction (especially certain articular fractures). The immediate stability achieved by surgical treatment allows for earlier healing and mobilization, but at the cost of an invasive procedure.”
bone healing
Bone healing then goes through several stages: “dFrom the first hours following the trauma, the injured cells of the bone and surrounding tissues will initiate a healing process”, which lasts about a week. From the second and third weeks, “a fibrous callus fills the space between the edges of the fracture” and “a neovascularization allows stem cells to migrate within the newly formed callus”. During the third phase of healing, which occurs on average two months after the trauma, the fibrous callus is replaced by a hard callus.
In July 2018, uA Canadian researcher has discovered that a molecule generated by vitamin D can improve the healing process of bone fractures. This experiment made it possible to discover the mechanism and the benefits of the molecule 24.25 (OH)2, secreted by the body during the absorption of victim B. Present in the rays of the sun as well as in certain foods such as dairy products or fish oils, vitamin D made it possible to accelerate the healing process of bone fractures, in particular because its absorption promotes the concentration of calcium in our body.
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