ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we review the key facts concerning fracture biomechanics and healing, and bone grafting and banking.
Fractures can be classified according to the nature of their causative force:
Stress fractures may result from cyclical loading with forces below the ultimate strength of the bone. Micro-damage may occur with each cycle of loading, with microscopic cracks forming along cement lines. The bone fails if the crack propagation moves faster than the reparative processes of internal (primary) remodelling and periosteal callus formation.
