Let's talk about fractures: what is meant by a splint

By Cristiano Antonino Last updated Jun 3, 2023

A splint is a support device used to hold any suspected arm or leg fracture in place. If you hear the term ‘splint’, therefore, do not be alarmed: rescuers are simply ‘securing’ an injured part – nothing more than that

The splint is used to:

Provide pain relief of the fractured limb.
Support the bone ends of the fracture site. The bone ends of the fracture site are very sharp. A splint helps prevent bone protruding through the skin, soft skin and tissue damage, and bleeding.
Facilitating medical transport so that it is safe and aggravates the clinical picture.

What is Splint?

In an emergency, anything can be used for splinting, but there are two types of splints (another term rescuers may use to refer to a splint):

Flexible
Rigid

Rigid splint: any rigid object, such as wooden or plastic boards, broom handles, books or unrolled newspapers, that can be used to immobilise a fractured arm or leg.

It goes without saying that emergency materials can be used in areas where a long waiting time for rescue can be expected. If you are in an urban area, call the emergency number, do not improvise as a health worker.

Flexible splint: any flexible object, such as a pillow or a sheet with several folds. This type is used for fractures of the foot, ankle and joints. The previous objections apply.

What are a medical sling and a bandage?

A medical sling is a piece of cloth used to immobilise the fractured arm to the rigid splint at 90° elbow flexion.

The ‘sling’ (a slang expression from the Anglo-Saxon medical world) usually takes the form of a large triangle.

It can be used together with or instead of a rigid splint.

When used alone, the splint should be supported with an additional bandage, which in reality is a 5-6 inch wide folded sheet.

General principles of splinting

Several ways are adopted for splinting, which may seem very complicated – at first glance – yet are very simple.

Here are some general principles to be applied during splinting as follows:

Identify the fracture site.
Stop the bleeding using bandages, but avoid pressing on the painful and deformed fracture site.
In the case of bone fractures where the bone ends protrude through the skin, do not put these ends back in place as this would cause inflammation and acute bleeding. This is an assessment to be made by a doctor in the emergency room.
Hold the fractured bone (including the joints above and below the fracture site) in place as indicated below:
If the lower arm is fractured, keep the wrist and elbow joints immobile.
If the upper arm is fractured, keep the shoulder and elbow joints immobile.
If the lower leg is fractured, keep the knee and ankle joints immobile.
If the upper leg is fractured, keep the knee and femur joints immobile.

The splint must be tied securely to immobilise the fractured limb, then check the blood circulation to ensure that the splint is not too tight.

Proper splinting provides pain relief.

If the fractured limb is bent with a sharp end of the bone protruding through the skin, keep it immobile.

Splint a limb as you find it to make it as comfortable as possible for the patient

If an ambulance is called and is on its way, do not splint the fractured limb and wait for the ambulance team to use their specialised medical splints.

A fracture is a rather serious medical emergency if you are in a remote area. However, if the medical team’s waiting time is reasonable, there is no need to improvise.

Why keep the upper and lower joints immobile?

Each bony extremity of the limbs is connected to a joint.

Displacement of that joint dislocates the fractured bone.

Therefore, the joints should remain immobile to immobilise the fractured bone.

What happens if the joint is broken?

This is the most difficult fracture to manage.

However, follow the same instructions for applying a splint.

Make sure to keep the joints, upper and lower bones, and the fracture site immobile.

For example, the elbow joint connects both the upper and lower arm.

In the event of a fracture, the joint and bones must be immobilised.

Therefore, both the shoulder and wrist joints should remain immobile.

In most cases, joint fractures are very painful.

In this case, never attempt to reposition the joint so as not to damage the nerves and blood vessels around the joint, not to mention the acute pain that results.

STRETCHERS, LUNG VENTILATORS, EVACUATION CHAIRS: SPENCER PRODUCTS ON THE DOUBLE BOOTH AT EMERGENCY EXPO

What materials are needed for splinting?

You will need:

A splint (rigid or flexible).
A thick bandage to be applied under the splint for maximum comfort. (Optional).

In other words, and in conclusion, if you witness a fracture or suffer one, don’t be alarmed by the practices you will observe rescuers doing: they make sense and are much less complex than they would appear.

If the accident happens in remote areas and it can be difficult to call the emergency number, remember that the first thing is to stop the bleeding (which should never be underestimated) and secondly, immobilising the injured party can be important.

Below you will find some articles dealing with individual cases, but the best advice is not to read a newspaper: it is to enrol in a first aid course held by qualified instructors.

No one is ever cured of anything by reading a newspaper (except from ignorance).

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Wrist Fracture: How To Recognise And Treat It

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