How do bones break?
You just spent recess waiting in line to sign your friend's new blue cast. Now you're wondering, what's the big deal? Breaking a bone can be a pretty big deal, but it happens to lots of kids. These days, most broken bones are easily fixed, but it can still be scary when it happens to you or a friend. You depend on your bones for many things, but it's easy to forget about them until something goes wrong.
Bones are made up of bone cells, proteins (say: pro-teens), and minerals (say: min-er-ulls), like calcium. Sound like something you might have read on the side of a cereal box or vitamin bottle? That's because your diet has a dig effect on the strength and health of your bones.
Your bones are tough stuff – but even tough stuff can break. Like a wooden pencil, bones bend under some strain (too forceful bending) and once the pressure it too sudden or too much, they might snap. You can break a bone by falling off a skateboard or if your sister's bike falls over on you in just the right way.
When a bone breaks it is called a fracture (say: frak-chur). There's more than one way to break or fracture a bone. A break can be anything from a hairline fracture (a thin break in the bone) to the bone being broken into two of more pieces.
Learn more about the bones in your body.
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