A femoral neck fracture is a hip fr

A femoral neck fracture is a hip fracture in which the neck of the thigh bone (femur) is partially or completely broken. Femoral neck fractures may occur as a result of a fall or motor vehicle accident, or they may occur spontaneously because of a disease process such as osteoporosis. Stress fractures can result from repetitive mechanical stress or structural defects in the bone that make it weak or brittle. Femoral neck fractures in the elderly may occur spontaneously or following low-velocity trauma; in young adults, femoral neck fracture usually is caused by high-velocity trauma. Conditions that predispose to femoral neck fracture include diabetes, osteoporosis (particularly in postmenopausal women), softening of the bones (osteomalacia), cancer that has metastasized to the bone, rheumatoid arthritis, neurological disease, previous hip fracture, hyperparathyroidism associated with severe renal disease and maternal history of hip fracture.
Causation and Known Risk Factors
Distance runners and ballet dancers are at particular risk for developing a stress or incomplete fracture of the femoral neck, as are the elderly. Other risk factors for femoral neck fracture include low body weight, prior radiation treatment (irradiation), sedentary lifestyle, impaired vision and poor balance that results in falls, and previous hip fracture. Athletic training errors, such as a sudden increase in the quantity or intensity of training or the introduction of a new activity, also are risk factors.