What is a Pelvic Fracture?

The pelvis sits at the base of the spine and consists of a group of bones held together by tough ligaments. The main bones in the pelvis are the hip bones, the sacrum (triangular shaped bone at the bottom of the spine) and the coccyx (tailbone). These pelvic bones support blood vessels, nerves, pelvic/abdominal/reproductive organs, the bladder/rectum and the digestive tract. It also connects to and stabilises the leg muscles.

Pelvic fractures can range from mild to severe in nature, however will always require medical attention and physical therapy rehabilitation to encourage timely recovery.

There are two classifications of pelvic fractures:

These classifications are then categorised into different types:

• Stable– only one break in the pelvic ring with minimal bleeding and surrounding damage
• Unstable– two or more breaks in the pelvic rings causing moderate to severe damage and bleeding
• Open– where the fractured bone pierces through skin
• Closed– where the fracture does not penetrate the skin
• Stress fracture– when the bone is cracked
• Displaced fracture– where gaps form between the fractured bones
• Partial fracture– where the fracture doesn’t completely go through the bone
• Complete fracture– where the bone breaks into two or more pieces