Dig into the body’s biological process that heals a broken bone, and find out how different kinds of fractures are mended.

Watch the video and decide if the sentences below are true or false:

1. About half of all people will break a bone at some point in their lives.

2. Broken bones don’t cause pain because nerves are not present in bones.

3. Scientists fully understand why broken bones hurt so much.

4. Long bones are more likely to break because they often absorb impact from falls.

5. A fracture can cause blood vessels inside the bone to rupture.

6. The healing process begins with the remodelling phase.

7. During the inflammatory phase, immune cells clean the injury site.

8. Bone healing speed depends on factors like diet and rest.

9. After healing, bones are always weaker than before.

10. Activities like walking and weightlifting can increase bone density.

Key:1T; 2F; 3F; 4T; 5T; 6F; 7T; 8T; 9F; 10T  

Glossary

• mundane – very ordinary, boring, or not interesting
• catch – all  – a group or category that includes everything that doesn’t fit into other, more specific groups
• to relay – to pass or transmit something from one place to another
• searing – very intense or extreme (often used for pain or heat)
• to take the brunt of something – to receive the main force or impact of something
• rupture – an occasion when something explodes, breaks, or tears
• scaffold – a temporary structure that supports something as it is being built
• misaligned – not properly lined up or in the correct position
• humerus /ˈhjuː.mə.rəs/ – the long bone in the upper half of your arm, between your shoulder and your elbow (= the middle part of the arm where it bends)

 

Practice makes perfect

Watch the beginning of the video (0:00-1:47) and fill in the gaps in the excerpt below:

 

Whatever you were doing, there was no way to anticipate what came next. The back of your elbow 1. ………. against a hard surface, and the impact sent a sensation so 2. …………. disquieting shooting down your arm that it took several moments to regain 3. ………… . So, why does hitting this spot on your elbow, often referred to as your funny bone, feel so weird? Well, to start, your elbow is one of the most complicated joints in your body.

It’s where your upper arm bone, the humerus, meets the two bones of your forearm. Three main nerves run through your elbow. One of them, the ulnar nerve, is particularly 4. ……….. for our purposes.

Your ulnar nerve is composed of both sensory and motor nerve fibres. It extends from your 5. ………… to the tips of your fourth and fifth fingers, providing them with sensation along with swaths of your forearm and hand. So, say your little finger gets crushed by a car door.

Sensory receptors in your pinky finger’s tissues register that 6. …………. information and send electrical impulses up the ulnar nerve, which are then processed in your central nervous system. This leads to the perception of 7. ……….., sharp pain followed by aching. So that’s how your ulnar nerve generally works.

But your elbow has an anatomical 8. ………… that leaves your ulnar nerve 9. ………… to getting activated in a different way. Along almost all of its 10. ……….. , your ulnar nerve is protected, hidden beneath muscle, fat, and bone. Thankfully, this is generally true of your nerves. (…)

 

Key: 1. smacked; 2. distinctly; 3. composure; 4. relevant; 5. spine; 6. unfortunate; 7. acute; 8. quirk; 9. vulnerable; 10. length

 

Discuss

• What makes bones strong yet slightly flexible?
• Why might a clean break heal faster than a complex fracture?
• What factors do you think most influence how quickly a bone heals?
• Do you think modern medicine (casts, surgery) is always necessary for healing bones? Why or why not?
• Do you think healed bones are truly “as good as new”? Why?
• Why does hitting your “funny bone” feel different from other types of pain?
• Have you ever hit your funny bone? How would you describe the feeling?
• What activities strengthen bones the most? Why?
• How could lifestyle choices (exercise, posture, diet) affect both bones and nerves?

 

Watch and Revise!

Bone Breaks & Funny Bone: Explained!

https://www.cloud.worldwideschool.pl/index.php/s/CbgCTzs8qyrqEyx

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