Those white plaster casts with the signatures and drawings of all our friends already will only be a memory for many of us and that today's children may not live, because splints are increasingly being used for broken bones.
Casts and splints are intended to immobilise musculoskeletal injuries, reduce pain, and promote recovery, but they differ in their risks, indications, and benefits. Obviously, it is the physician who must make an accurate diagnosis, as well as assess the severity, stage, and stability of the injury to decide whether to use a cast, an intermediate option is to use an immovable splint, and the last alternative is an adjustable splint that is easily removed and put on.
The plasters provide superior immobilisation, but have higher complication rates and are generally reserved for more complex and definitive fracture repairs.
However, splints are only rigid on one or two sides, they provide a place of support and stabilisation for the fracture, reducing movement of the affected area and pain. Aside from the fact that splints are much more comfortable to wear than plasters They also reduce the risk of further injury and allow the area to increase in volume due to the inflammatory process, which casts cannot do.
In reference to the pain perceived during the first days after the fracture, the painful sensation was slightly greater in the patients with a splint compared to those in plaster. With regard to bone recovery times, they were similar in both immobilisation alternatives.
Knowing the pros and cons of each, there is a clear winner for which one the specialists choose. According to surveys carried out in different emergency health centres on one of the most common injuries in children, the distal radius impalement fracture, 63% of the health workers placed the patient in a removable splint from the outset as a method of immobilisation. If this percentage is broken down into different age groups, a splint was used in 76% of the patients. children while in adult it was a 55%.
Wrist braces with splints can be made of different fabrics, one of the most commonly used is neoprene because it maintains an optimal temperature. promoting recovery from injury.
Within the orthopaedic line of Exdol different models of devices are available to help immobilise, support or correct different parts of the body according to the patient's needs and the indications advised by the specialist.
