First Aid for Fractures

31 Aug First Aid for Fractures

Crunch Time

Summer months are normally the time when people get more active in the ‘great outdoors’ however with this increased activity it is also the time when A&E departments across the country, will become knee deep in Plaster of Paris trying to fix back all those broken bones from active adventures and activities gone wrong. So let’s look at fractures and how best to deal with them.

Broken bones

These days with so much sports coverage we have become very used to hearing the word fracture when someone is suspected of breaking a bone, but is this some kind of special break? The answer is no; a fracture is the medical term used to described a broken bone; a break in continuity of  bone.

Types of fractures!

1. Simple – partial break no wound
2. Stress – small crack caused by repeated force on the bone
3. Spiral – break travels around bone
4. Compound – bone pierces skin
5. Communited – bone broken into pieces
6. Pathological – due to underlying condition
7. Transverse – complete break across bone
8. Oblique – diagonal across bone
9. Green Stick – partial break of bone through bending motion (usually seen in children due to softer bones)
10. Avulsion – fragment of bone is pulled off by tendon or ligament

Signs and Symptoms

May include:

• Swelling
• Difficulty of moving suspected bone
• Deformed looking Bone
• Sound of crack or crunch if traumatic
• Shock
• Intense Pain

Treating Fractures

1. (F)irst Aid to deal with any wound, swelling and shock caused by fracture
2. (R)eduction in gap between break allows for future healing
3. (I)mmobilisation prevents further injury whilst allowing bone to heal back together
4. (A)ctive (R)ehabilitation – helps to strengthen the bone

Fracture healing stages

• Haematoma formation- Torn blood vessels cause masses of clotted blood to form at fracture site leading to swelling and pain
• Cell proliferation – 8 hours after, inflammatory reaction starts
• Callus Formation – After a few days continuing into a few months callus start to form in order to rejoin the bone
• Consolidation – New bone layers are formed
• Remodelling – Compacted bone forms around the break

Whilst its good to know these things it’s even better to avoid breaking any bones so be careful out there!

Any questions or comments please feel free to leave below