Boots for a broken leg

The design of the orthoses can be complemented with soft gel, silicone or metal inserts, straps and laces. These devices allow the orthosis to better fit the leg, provide greater comfort when worn and often have a thermal effect. Good air permeability and hypoallergenicity are among the parameters of the ankle.

Treatment of a femoral neck fracture in the elderly

Statistics show that 95 % of the elderly fracture their femoral neck in a serious fall. Such injuries are common in adults over the age of 65, particularly those with osteoporosis. According to the researchers, the disease is more common in women, and every third of them suffers a fracture when falling.

Doctors can operate on the neck of the femur and install an endoprosthesis or allow the bone to heal naturally. The choice of treatment method depends on the condition of the victim. Normal state of health - the joint is replaced, in case of worrying symptoms, high blood pressure, varicose veins - is treated conservatively. Any of these methods will require nursing care for a femoral neck fracture in the elderly as recovery will be lengthy.

In this article, we explain how to care for a loved one after a femoral neck injury when a relative or loved one is affected.

care of the elderly

How well an elderly person recovers from an injury depends largely on how the rehabilitation process goes and how comfortable the environment is.

Proper treatment should be guided by professional rehabilitation therapists. The experts select individual techniques. In doing so, they reduce the risk of disability, get patients back on their feet and help them regain their independence in daily life. Family members play an equally important role in recovery.

Caring for the elderly begins with remodeling the room. It is important that the room is safe. The elderly person's care is needed for hygiene, meal preparation and other daily activities.

Orthoses for a heel fracture

A heel fracture is not one of the most common injuries, but it is very uncomfortable. Due to the structure of the heel bone, it is not easy to break. If this is nevertheless successful, the recovery is lengthy and difficult. To increase the effectiveness of treatment and prevent complications, special orthopedic braces are used.

A heel orthosis is a fixation splint. Their function is to keep the bones in the correct alignment so that they grow together quickly.

Wearing such an orthosis helps prevent dislocations and other complications associated with this type of injury.

Depending on the type of break, the injured person may need surgery to reposition the bone fragments. Even after such an operation, an orthosis is put on, which keeps the heel bones in a safe position.

Causes of fractures

As mentioned earlier, breaking your heel is difficult. In most cases, the following circumstances lead to serious consequences:

• Leaps from great heights with straight legs.
• Accidents in which the heel bone is crushed.
• sports injuries.
• TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS.
• Injuries caused by sustained exertion. A good example is the formation of microfractures, which develop into full-fledged fractures with intensive military training.
• Injuries caused by sustained strain. A good example is the formation of microfractures, which develop into full-fledged fractures during intensive combat training in the military.

In some cases, a broken heel bone can easily be mistaken for a bruise, which is why those affected do not see a specialist in time. As a result, one goes to the doctor not only with a fracture, but also with a number of complications.

If there is a suspicion of an injury, it is advisable to immediately consult a specialist and have an X-ray taken. Otherwise, there is a risk of bone displacement, which is very difficult to fix.

When the cast is on the leg

If your lower leg is in a cast, you should use crutches.

What you can and cannot do during fixation depends on the type of fracture. You will usually receive these instructions when you visit the trauma center or when you are discharged from the hospital.

If you have questions for your doctor, you can make an appointment or use our online help.

Recovery in a lying position

After a limb injury, you should start sports and physical activity immediately. The muscles relax. Fractures heal properly. Below are a number of examples of therapeutic exercises aimed at rehabilitation of the patient:

Each exercise should be done about 10 times. They are performed on the healthy parts of the body. Lowering, raising, adducting, and bringing the leg closer to the body should be done with the injured leg. At the beginning you need the help of a helper. Later, as part of rehabilitation, these exercises can be carried out independently.

At the initial stage of rehabilitation, the patient will experience swelling. To alleviate this, it makes sense to wear support bandages and perform the following movements:

1. While lying in bed, raise, hold and lower your legs slightly.
2. Shortening and relaxing the muscles of the limbs.
3. Flexion and subsequent extension of the toes.
4. turning the feet.
5. Draw your legs towards your chest.

As soon as the doctor determines that the patient can walk, further gymnastics is recommended. The load is increased. Drug treatment is discontinued. The process of walking again occurs with the help of a crutch. A stick can also be used. The exercises should only be carried out after the cast has been removed:

From the day the plaster is removed, under the supervision of a doctor, the load should be increased gradually, not quickly. This includes using weights. Also increase the number of repetitions and total load.

walking training

In parallel with the above exercises, add a complex for quick recovery and rehabilitation of walking. Here are some effective variants:

• Grab and hold a small object with the tips of your toes;
• Using the foot to roll a ball with the limbs;
• standing on tiptoe, on heels;
• Walk sideways and backwards.

If possible, train on a stationary bike. Don't neglect recommended post-injury exercises and treatments. Movement in rehabilitation leads to rapid recovery and revitalizes the body from the day the cast is removed.

Recovery from a fracture should continue until the body has fully recovered. Exercise can be stopped when mobility has been restored, swelling has gone down and pain is gone. The success of rehabilitation depends not only on the will of the patient and his treatment program.

Types of plaster casts

The size of the cast depends on the type of injury, the location of the injury and its severity. There are different types of plaster casts for a child's arm or leg. The most common are the following:

• from the base of the fingers to the elbow joint (do not grasp the joint itself): used for the wrist or the lower third of the forearm;
• from the fingertips to the shoulder: for the forearm, the elbow joint and the lower third of the humerus
• on the leg from the base of the toes to the knee (without grasping the joint): for injuries to the ankle, the lower third of the tibia;
• on the whole leg from the base of the toes to the hip joint: in some ankle fractures, shin splint fractures and knee injuries;
• on the leg above the knee and on the lateral surface of the body: required for some hip injuries.

There are other types of plaster casts as well. Regardless of their nature, they must fulfill their main purpose: to firmly fix the injured area.

Basic rules for wearing a plaster cast

It is very important for parents to know the basic rules for caring for a child who has a cast on his arm or leg after a fracture. Care should be taken to ensure that the cast is worn comfortably to avoid complications and speed up the healing process.

• It is not advisable to wet the cast. Of course, the bandage itself dries out over time, but the inner layer of material remains moist for a very long time. This can cause skin irritation. In addition, when the bandage is wet, it can easily deform and the fixation is no longer secure. If the pad gets wet, you can speed up the drying process with a hair dryer.
• For the first few days, it is advisable for the child to rest and sleep in a slightly elevated position with the bandage on the arm or leg to prevent swelling and reduce pain.
• A puff of cold air with a hair dryer will help relieve itching under the patch, but it is not advisable to scratch the skin with a needle or pen, lest you injure it and cause infection.
• It is important that you exercise regularly to keep the muscles of the affected limb as strong as possible. Your doctor will show you how to do the exercises.

A plaster cast is usually only uncomfortable for the first few days. After that, both the child and the parents get used to the new reality.

Forced restriction of physical activity is a real torment for an active child. An abundance of modern gadgets, cartoons and entertainment content for every taste can help brighten the day, but it is advisable to find alternative entertainment options.

Children who have a cast on their arm after a fracture can move freely and socialize with their peers. Walking helps avoid hypodynamia. In the case of a broken leg, the situation is more complicated. While parents can accompany small children in wheelchairs, older children must learn to use crutches.

Plaster painting is a good activity for children and young people. You can paint on the white surface with bright pens, markers or even paints. Babies will love the colorful pictures, and teens can ask their friends for wishes and autographs.

Hip fracture – a dangerous and complex injury

The book by Lena Andreev. Photo: Olympus Business Publishing

Rehabilitation after a fracture can last more than six months.Forced immobility and helplessness affect the physical and mental well-being of the patient. Complications of a femoral neck fracture include bedsores, venous congestion, thrombosis, and congestive pneumonia. Prolonged inactivity leads to muscle wasting, and even after healing, the sufferer cannot immediately return to normal life - they literally have to relearn how to control their body. However, well-organized care can not only alleviate suffering, but also speed up the patient's rehabilitation.

In older people, bones become brittle, so most femoral neck fractures are caused by falling from a height. Women suffer fractures more often than men. This appears to be due to women being more active when doing housework, reaching for salt or slipping on a wet, freshly washed floor. It is not the fracture itself that is so dangerous, but the complications it can cause. Such trauma, especially in the elderly, can lead to prolonged bed rest and even death as immobility causes pressure ulcers, thrombosis, congestive pneumonia, gastrointestinal problems, tissue necrosis and heart failure, and the person often becomes depressed.

How to properly turn a seriously ill person Advice on how to make the movement safe for your client and others

Arthroplasties are performed on patients of all ages, but in some cases they are contraindicated (for example, after a stroke).

However, life will never be the same again after a femoral neck fracture, whether surgery is scheduled or not.

Symptoms of a femoral neck fracture

• The pain may not be acute, but increases when you try to move. It is concentrated in the groin, near the trochanter of the femur. With a light tap on the heel of the leg, where a fracture is suspected, the pain intensifies;
• Limb deformity – the leg may be slightly twisted outwards, which is felt in the foot;
• Swelling and bruising are relative signs of a fracture;
• inability to raise straight leg unaided, although ability to bend and roll knee retained, heel always dragging on bed surface - 'heel tapping symptom';
• Relative shortening of the limb by about 2-4 cm – as a result of the fracture, the muscles contract and 'pull' the leg towards the pelvis.

If you notice these symptoms, put the affected person to bed and call an ambulance!

Accommodation for people with disabilities Suggest ways to create an accessible environment in the home of a person with a disability.

If the fracture is not recognized immediately and the patient continues to walk despite the pain, the sharp parts of the broken bone can injure surrounding tissue and blood vessels.

• Age;
• Osteoporosis;
• metabolic disorders;
• Unsteady gait due to partial paralysis, dizziness, blurred vision and tremors in Parkinson's disease.

To prevent Parkinson's disease, the patient must:

• move more to maintain mobility and muscle strength;
• Prevent falls (set up the apartment properly for this purpose, remove obstacles, buy comfortable shoes, provide aids)
• maintain a healthy diet;
• maintain a regular drinking regime.

In the case of a femoral neck fracture, it is recommended:

How to stand up and sit down with a cane

To sit properly in a chair with a cane, stand with your back to the chair, touch your foot to the edge of the chair, and slowly squat down, leaning on the cane with both hands. You should also support the stick with both hands when lifting it.

– When walking, the support is always on the side of the sound limb.

– We start the movement with the weak leg (two support points).

– Then we walk with the cane on the sound leg.

– Then we shift the focus to the stick and take a step with the good leg.

How to go up and down a flight of stairs with a cane

If you already know how to walk, stand up and sit down with a cane, you can now master the techniques for climbing and descending stairs:

1. Before climbing the stairs, hold the handrail (if you have one) with your cane in your free hand.

2. Climb the first step with the sound leg and shift your body weight onto the pole and handrail.

3. Put the stick on the step and move your sick leg.

Make sure that your center of gravity is in the middle of the pivot point when climbing stairs.

prevention of complications

Since the patient is forced to remain immobile for a longer period of time after the operation, he must expect venous blood congestion. This poses a risk of thrombosis, stroke and even death.

Therefore, a person with a fracture must:

• Appropriate care (hygiene, decubitus prevention, nutrition, medication and physiotherapy);
• Follow all doctor's recommendations;
• reassure the patient that the rehabilitation will be over soon and everything will be fine.

Only when all these requirements are met and good morals are maintained can one hope to lead a normal life without complications for several months.

rehabilitation

This is monitored by a qualified attending physician. Throughout the rehabilitation period, the following activities are recommended:

1. Therapeutic exercises to restore the leg to its former mobility.
2. The foot is trained. To do this, a walk in the apartment or on the street is enough, starting with a short distance and gradually increasing the load.
3. Therapeutic massage.
4. Wearing shoes with orthopedic insoles for the first six months after the fracture.
5. Warm foot baths with herbs.
6. swimming lessons.
7. Switch to a healthy and balanced diet.

Doctors point out that recovery from a metatarsal fracture takes a long time. In order for your treatment to be as successful as possible, you must strictly follow all the recommendations of your doctor. Once the cast is off, you should start exercising.

To minimize the risk of injuring the bones in your lower limbs, try to be gentle with them and not put too much stress on them. If you play a dangerous sport that has a high risk of injury, you should give it up. Take care of your health and do not neglect it, then you will be fine.

Hello. I broke my 2nd metatarsal 2 months ago without a dislocation. I put on a cast and worked on it for 3 weeks. Now I have pain again but it feels closer to the 3-4 metatarsal bones. Can you tell me if this is normal? Or is it more of a recent injury as it is a fracture after a fracture (which I understand is a stress fracture). Thanks!!!

For any problem that concerns you, you can get a traumatology consultation through the 'Ask a doctor' service. Expert doctors offer consultation hours 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and free of charge. Ask your question and you will get an answer immediately!

How to choose and wear Baruca shoes correctly

Choosing the right orthopedic shoes is extremely important. The product must fix the foot in the anatomically correct position. The special shoes are made in five sizes, which corresponds to the Latin name. The matching pair can be selected based on the correspondences given in the correspondence table.

When prescribing surgical shoes for the rehabilitation phase, the podiatrist must speak to the patient. The doctor will specify exactly which model is required and how to put it on, wear it and take it off. The podiatrist determines the degree of fixation of shoes on the foot depending on the patient's personal characteristics. These conditions must be observed when wearing special shoes:
The average lifespan of therapeutic shoes is 6 weeks.

When putting it on, the buckles must be fully opened and the foot placed in such a way that the bandage on the foot is not damaged. The buckles must then be closed carefully. Closed-toe shoes must not pinch the foot or slip when walking.

Also, carefully remove the shoes so that the Velcro does not damage the bandages.

When walking outdoors, you should use an additional insole to protect the device and your foot from getting cold or getting dirty.

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