What to Do In Case Of Breaks and Sprains
A lay person might find it very difficult to differentiate between a break and a sprain just by looking at an injury.
While both these conditions involve some amount of strain to the bones, a sprain puts pressure on the bones by pulling and tearing the muscles, ligaments and tissues around them and a break actually snaps the bone.
An x-ray can be a conclusive way of ascertaining the kind of injury afflicted.
The initial care administered to a break can determine whether the final healing would be aligned and correct or would the bone be permanently mis-cued.
A few important things if taken care of can help the patient heal better.
Initial Care to Be Administered For Breaks In case of an injury to the neck or back it is imperative that you do not move the patient unless absolutely required.
Any movement without proper support to the broken neck or back can lead to permanent nerve damage.
In case it is absolutely necessary to move the person, care should be taken to keep the head, neck, shoulder and back aligned throughout.
In other areas of the body, if the broken bone protrudes out of the skin causing extensive bleeding then pressure should be applied using a clean cloth or gauze.
Splints made by tying something firm like a walking stick or newspaper stack together with cushioning pillows should be tied to the breakage area before the patient is moved.
Application of ice wrapped in a cloth to the injured area can provide some relief until medical help arrives.
Initial Care to Be Administered For Sprains In case of injury to the neck or back, the golden rule of not moving the patient still applies.
Again, if the patient has to be moved, precaution should be taken to move as carefully as possible while keeping the whole body aligned.
RICE, which stands for 'Rest', 'Ice', 'Compression' And 'Elevation', is the correct method to get a sprain treated effectively.
Generally a sprain can be administered to at home.
Resting the injured area, applying ice packs for a period of around 15 minutes every few hours can help reduce swelling and also alleviate the pain.
An elastic bandage that compresses the injured site would also help in reducing the swelling.
Lastly, the injured area should be kept elevated above the level of the patient's heart to decrease swelling.
Heat compresses should be avoided as they can exacerbate the swelling and pain.
While both these conditions involve some amount of strain to the bones, a sprain puts pressure on the bones by pulling and tearing the muscles, ligaments and tissues around them and a break actually snaps the bone.
An x-ray can be a conclusive way of ascertaining the kind of injury afflicted.
The initial care administered to a break can determine whether the final healing would be aligned and correct or would the bone be permanently mis-cued.
A few important things if taken care of can help the patient heal better.
Initial Care to Be Administered For Breaks In case of an injury to the neck or back it is imperative that you do not move the patient unless absolutely required.
Any movement without proper support to the broken neck or back can lead to permanent nerve damage.
In case it is absolutely necessary to move the person, care should be taken to keep the head, neck, shoulder and back aligned throughout.
In other areas of the body, if the broken bone protrudes out of the skin causing extensive bleeding then pressure should be applied using a clean cloth or gauze.
Splints made by tying something firm like a walking stick or newspaper stack together with cushioning pillows should be tied to the breakage area before the patient is moved.
Application of ice wrapped in a cloth to the injured area can provide some relief until medical help arrives.
Initial Care to Be Administered For Sprains In case of injury to the neck or back, the golden rule of not moving the patient still applies.
Again, if the patient has to be moved, precaution should be taken to move as carefully as possible while keeping the whole body aligned.
RICE, which stands for 'Rest', 'Ice', 'Compression' And 'Elevation', is the correct method to get a sprain treated effectively.
Generally a sprain can be administered to at home.
Resting the injured area, applying ice packs for a period of around 15 minutes every few hours can help reduce swelling and also alleviate the pain.
An elastic bandage that compresses the injured site would also help in reducing the swelling.
Lastly, the injured area should be kept elevated above the level of the patient's heart to decrease swelling.
Heat compresses should be avoided as they can exacerbate the swelling and pain.
