Fractures, Dislocations, and Soft Tissue Injuries (How to Treat Fractures)

Fracture is just another word for a broken bone. A dislocation occurs at the site of a joint and is where a bone is fully or partially displaced. Soft tissue injuries include sprains, strains, and ruptures. They are often caused in the same way as fractures and generally are hard to distinguish from broken bones.

BROKEN BONES. There are two main types of broken bone. The first is a closed (simple) break or fracture, where the bone has broken but has not pierced the skin. A closed fracture is sometimes difficult to diagnose, even for experienced medical staff, who will usually rely on an X-ray to determine whether or not the bone is definitely broken. The second type is an open (compound) break or fracture, where the bone has either pierced the skin or is  associated with an open wound. The greatest risk with open breaks is infection. Both open and closed breaks can result in injury to underlying organs or blood vessels and may also be unstable if the ends of the broken bone are moving around. In young children the bones are not fully formed and may bend rather than break (termed a greenstick fracture).
     While it is possible to give some general guidance for the recognition of broken bones, no two people are identical in their response. The first general rule therefore is, if in doubt, assume that a bone is broken and treat as such. Be particularly aware of potential fractures if the accident involved a sharp blow, a fall, a rapid increase or decrease of speed, or a sudden twist.

DISLOCATIONS. The most common sites for dislocations are the shoulders, thumbs, and hips. Dislocations are usually characterized by intense pain and an obvious deformity. There may be signs and symptoms similar to a broken bone, including feelings of tingling or numbness below the site of the injury, caused by trapped nerves or blood vessels. Do not attempt to replace the bone. Make the victim comfortable and take or send him to hospital.

SOFT TISSUE INJURIES. Strains are an overstretching of the muscle, leading to a partial tear. Ruptures are complete tears in muscles.Sprains are injuries to a ligament at near a joint. The signs and symptoms of soft tissue injuries will be similar to the signs and symptoms of a fracture and will generally follow a sharp twisting or stretching movement.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF BROKEN BONES
Pain. This accompanies most, but not all, fractures and is caused by the broken bone ends pressing on nerve endings.

Deformity. An injured part may appear deformed, particularly when compare to the uninjured side.

Swelling. Some swelling may be present at the site of a fracture.

Tenderness. This accompanies most broken bones and can often only be felt when the injured part is gently touched.

Shock. The signs and symptoms of shock will often accompany major fractures. There may be reddening or bruising over the site of the break, but this often takes some time to appear. You may also hear the ends of broken bone rubbing together, a sound known as crepitus.

Another potential sign of a broken bone is lack of feeling or tingling sensation below the fracture site. This may indicate nerve damage or a reduction in circulation caused by the bone pushing on either the nerves or the blood vessels. The treatment for injuries displaying these symptoms is the same as for any broken bone. However, if you have been trained to do so, applying traction may alleviate the problem.

If the victim is displaying any combination of this signs and symptoms or the nature of the accident suggest that a fracture is likely, assume that a bone is broken.

HOW TO TREAT FRACTURES
The general rule for treating all broken bones is to immobilize them, because this reduce pain and the likelihood of further injury. The risk of infection is also and important consideration in the treatment of open fractures and requires action. Do not give a person who has a broken bone anything to eat or drink in case he needs a general anesthetic in hospital.

KEEPING A BROKEN BONE STILL

1. The victim will often have put the injured part in the position that is most comfortable for him and will generally be guarding the injury and keeping it still. If the victim has not done this, encourage him to keep still and help him into a comfortable position.
2. Once the victim is still you can help to steady and support the fracture using your hands. By helping the victim keep the injured part still you enable him to relax. The very act of relaxing the muscles reduces the pull on the broken bones and often alleviates pain.
3. If you have to transport the victim yourself, or if it is going to be a while until help arrives, then you can immobilize the broken bone further with bandages or improvise with a coats or blankets, for example.

The key points to remember with any type of bandaging are:

• Not to tie the bandage too tightly.
• To pad around the site of the break.

Do not move the injured area unnecessarily.

1. Place the dressing over the wound and build up padding alongside the bone.
2. Tie both the padding and the dressing in place, using firm pressure.
3. Remember that broken bones do swell and that you may need to loosen the bandage if the circulation below the site of the break becomes impaired.

TREATMENT OF OPEN BREAKS. In the first instance, the wound should be protected using either a sterile dressing or an improvised dressing made from a piece of clean, dry, and non-fluffy materials. If the bleeding is profuse, or you are going to have to wait some time for further help, this dressing should be held in place using the same principles as you would apply if there were a foreign object in the wound.

CHECKING FOR DAMAGE TO CIRCULATION

With any bandaging, you run the risk of cutting off the circulation to the area below the site of the bandage. While this can in part be avoided by not trying bandages too tightly and by never using a tourniquet, the nature of wounds means that they swell and this can cause a once satisfactory bandage to become too tight. There are a number of ways to check whether a bandage is cutting off circulation:

• If the skin below the site of the bandage becomes white, gray, or blue, or feels cold to the touch.
• If the victim complains of tingling, numbness, or of a lack of circulation.
• If the pulse in the limbs slows or stops.
• If the color does not quickly return to the skin after the skin is gently pinched or the nail compressed.

If you notice any of these signs, gently loosen, but do not remove, the bandage until the blood flow returns.

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Frederick Luneta is a 24-year old guy and he is a Computer Engineering student and a young part time blogger. Currently lives in the Philippines. He knows a lot about computer.