Other common signs and symptoms of a broken bone include: limited mobility, numbness or tingling, severe swelling and bruising, nausea. Trying to move a person with a fractured spine or skull is very risky without proper training and should be avoided. Attempting to align broken bones improperly can lead to further damage to blood vessels and nerves, leading to more bleeding and potential paralysis.
Have the person lie down with her head propped up and/or supported in the most comfortable manner possible. Make sure the person doesn’t move her fractured bone to any significant extent. Do not allow a person with a spinal, head, neck, or pelvic injury to get up, and especially don’t let her walk. To help prevent shock, cover the person in a blanket or jacket to keep her warm.
Apply the cold therapy for at least 15 minutes or until the area is completely numb before attempting to reset or realign the fractured bone. While the cold therapy is being applied, make sure the broken limb is very carefully elevated in order to combat inflammation and slow down any blood loss. [4] X Expert Source Jonathan Frank, MDSports Orthopedic Surgeon & Joint Preservation Specialist Expert Interview. 31 July 2020. However, broken legs should never be elevated. Do not risk harming the broken limb in order to elevate it. To further combat swelling and blood loss, compress the cold therapy against the injury with a bandage, elastic support or even a belt. However, don’t tie the compression bandage too tight or leave it on for more than 15 minutes because complete restriction of blood flow could cause more damage to the injured area.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) such as aspirin and ibuprofen are effective for pain and inflammation control, but they also inhibit blood clotting, so they aren’t a good idea for injuries involving significant bleeding. Even if there is no bleeding, an NSAID should not be given until at least 30 minutes after the injury, which allows damaged tissues time to begin to repair themselves. Furthermore, aspirin and ibuprofen should not be given to young children, regardless whether there’s much bleeding associated with the fracture or not.
Although an emergency call can be made quickly (within minutes), if you are located in an isolated spot, help may not arrive for up to an hour or more. It may be necessary to do some basic first aid to move the person to safety. If you really don’t think you can realign a broken bone by yourself, then focus more on CPR (clearing the airways and making sure the person can breathe) and controlling the bleeding, if any.
Traction can be applied with your own hands and upper body strength, or with the help of weights and pulleys if in a clinical setting. Without medical training, only fingers and toes should be attempted to be realigned with traction if it’s not possible to get medical help right away. Other bones / areas present too much risk of further injury for the untrained. Stop realigning the bone if there is considerable resistance or a significant increase in pain. Muscle relaxant medication may help the realigning procedure, especially if the surrounding muscles have gone into spasm.
Internal fixation uses special metal screws, rods and/or plates to attach the bone fragments together and hold everything in place until the injury heals. With this approach, the hardware often remains in place under the skin even after the fracture heals. External fixation holds the bone in place as it heals with a supportive external frame (on the outside of the skin) made of rods that are drilled into the bone pieces with metal screws. [9] X Research source The frame is then removed once the bone is healed and strong enough to support itself. This technique is used for complex fractures that cannot be repaired using open reduction or surgical internal fixation. Any type of bone repair surgery requires a regional or general anesthetic for pain control.
Casts and splints are often left on for several weeks, depending on the severity of the fracture. Splinting can be done in an emergency situation outside of a hospital environment using a variety of materials including pieces of wood, metal, plastic or stiff cardboard. When splinting a fracture site, try to allow movement in the adjacent joints (unless the fracture involves the joint) and don’t secure the material too tight — allow appropriate blood circulation.
