Which statement about the hip fracture leg position is most typical?

• A. Internally rotated and shortened.
• B. Leg externally rotated but length unchanged.
• C. No deformity.
• D. Externally rotated and shortened.

Answer: (D)

A hip fracture typically presents with the leg shortened and externally rotated. When the femoral neck or nearby region is broken, the muscle forces around the hip pull the leg into external rotation, and the fracture disrupts alignment enough that the limb appears shorter when the patient is lying flat. This combination—external rotation with shortening—is the classic deformity you’d expect with a suspected hip fracture. The other descriptions don’t fit: internal rotation isn’t the usual posture after a fracture, a leg can be externally rotated and shortened rather than staying the same length, and there’s almost always some deformity rather than a normal, unaltered position.