First aid for fractures of limbs: step-by-step description, recommendations and treatment

According to statistics, almost every person at least once in his life experienced such a trauma as a fracture. In the United States, about seven million cases are registered daily, in Russia - all nine million. This pathology often causes people to turn to traumatologists, and during the holidays and the glaze of patients it becomes even more: drunkenness and falls provoke dislocations, fractures of limbs. First aid in this case can not only minimize the likelihood of complications, but also save a person's life.

The most common causes of fractures

The cause of fracture of the limbs, as a rule, is trauma, i.e., external impact, which in strength exceeds the strength of the bone site to which it is directed. Some fractures arise as a result of some disease: the integrity of the bone can be disturbed without external influence, but only because of the pathological weakness of the bone tissue. Pathological fractures can be the result of tuberculosis of bones, severe osteoporosis, cancer (spread of metastases or the immediate localization of malignant growth in bone tissue) or myeloma.

Short statistics of bone tissue damage

Fractures often occur in young men and young men. Representatives of the stronger sex work in industries where there is a risk of injury, more often use alcoholic beverages, with which drunken fights and drunk driving are associated, like extreme sports. Most often, men have dislocations and fractures of limbs (first aid must be provided immediately), ribs and bones of the facial part of the skull.

In women, due to the development of osteoporosis with age, the risk of injury increases by 45-50 years. In addition to menopause, pregnancy and breastfeeding are a dangerous period when the body experiences calcium deficiency, the center of gravity shifts, and visibility is limited to a large belly.

Such injuries are common in childhood. Fractures account for up to 20% of all injuries in children, which by their nature are active, active and inquisitive.

Classification of fractures of the extremities

First aid for fractures of limbs largely depends on the nature of the injury. There are several criteria for dividing fractures into groups:

1. Due to the occurrence: traumatic (the cause was external impact) or pathological (fracture was facilitated by internal factors: complications of various diseases, deficiency of certain vitamins and minerals)
2. By severity: distinguish fractures with displacement, when fragments of bone can injure surrounding tissues, or without displacement, if bone fragments are retained by muscles and tendons. There are also incomplete fractures, which are called cleavages or cracks.
3. On the integrity of the skin: an open fracture is characterized by a superficial wound, whereas with closed fragments, the bones do not communicate with the external environment.
4. In the shape and direction of the damage: spiral, straight, longitudinal, oblique and transverse fractures.

First aid for fractures: procedure of actions

If there are fractures of the bones of the limbs, first aid allows you to halve the likelihood of their complications, and in some cases even save lives. The main thing is that all events are conducted correctly and in a timely manner.

First aid for fractures of extremities includes a number of measures aimed at determining the type of fracture (the actions of a person providing first aid are different depending on what they have to deal with - an open or closed fracture, whether there is an accompanying injury pain shock and others Complications) and directly providing the necessary assistance. After this, the victim should be taken to the hospital or the doctors arrive at the scene.

How is first aid for fractures of the extremities? In general, assistance is provided as follows:

1. It is necessary to give an objective assessment of the condition of the victim, to make sure that there is a fracture and to determine the further order of actions. First aid for fractures of the limbs is carried out only if the patient is already safe.
2. If the victim is unconscious and does not breathe, the first thing to do is to carry out resuscitation measures and bring him to life.
3. With open fractures, it is first necessary to stop bleeding and treat the wound with an antiseptic to avoid infection, if possible, it is advisable to impose a sterile bandage.
4. If medications are available, an injured limb should be anesthetized by injecting ketorolac (1 ampoule), novocaine (5 ml) or other suitable remedy.
5. It is necessary to immobilize the limb and call an ambulance. In some cases, it is allowed to deliver the victim to the medical institution on his own.

Symptoms and signs of fracture of limbs

First aid for fractures of the limbs is only if you are convinced that the victim received a fracture, not another kind of damage. So, absolute signs of a fracture of a limb are:

• Visible deformation of the damaged area;
• In some cases - the impossibility of movement;
• Increased mobility, unnatural position of the hand / leg (or their parts);
• Superficial wound and visible bone fragments with open fracture;
• Characteristic crunch at the moment of impact.

Relative signs of fracture, i.e., symptoms that in some cases may accompany other injuries, are:

• Soreness in the damaged area, which increases during movement;
• Hematoma, with pulsating pain indicating that internal bleeding continues;
• Swelling and swelling in the area of injury, which can develop as early as 15 minutes after fracture;
• Restriction of mobility, damaged limb, as a rule, does not function at all or in part.

Assessment of the condition of the victim

First aid with an open fracture of a limb, closed damage, cracks or other injuries involves examining the victim, assessing his condition and the situation around the scene. If the danger is still present, people should be evacuated to a safe place and then start pre-hospital care.

The victim should be examined for additional injuries, bleeding, potential injuries, check the main indicators of vital functions: the presence and pulse and respiration rate, the ability to respond to external stimuli (light, sound). If a person is conscious, contact with the victim should be established, and questions about complaints, localization and the nature of the pain should be asked.

What is important, it is unacceptable to move the injured person without extreme need and without applying transport tires to the injured limb.

Unconscious state of the victim

First aid for fractures of limbs involves bringing a person to consciousness and performing resuscitation if necessary. So, you should provide the victim with peace and try to bring a person to consciousness with the help of external stimuli - slapping on the cheeks, cold water or cotton wool soaked in ammonia and brought to the nose.

Resuscitative measures

If there is no breath and no pulse, then artificial respiration and cardiac massage are necessary. For successful resuscitation, the victim should lie on a hard surface. One hand should grab the chin, the other - hold your nose. The head of the victim slightly tilts back, the mouth should be open. The person giving help takes a deep breath, and then a gentle exhalation, tightly covering the victim's mouth. Artificial respiration should be carried out through a napkin or special device. Exhalation in the victim's mouth should be done every four seconds until self-breathing is restored.

Indirect cardiac massage is carried out as follows: a person who provides first aid, has hands crosswise on the chest of the victim and makes pressure (the chest should fall four or five centimeters). You should make 30 tremors, and then change the compression to the ventilation of the lungs. Resuscitation measures are conducted in the ratio of thirty tremors to two breaths.

Traumatic shock: procedure

In case of traumatic shock, first aid for fractures of the lower limbs (as well as the upper ones) involves stopping bleeding, providing comfortable conditions (for example, in a cold person should be sheltered to prevent frostbite) and prompt medical care in a hospital. If there are no fractures of the lower limbs, you should lift the victim's legs by 15-30 centimeters.

Stop bleeding and wound treatment

First aid with an open limb fracture involves stopping bleeding and treating the wound. First, the correct position should be given to the limb and released from clothing, since the growing swelling in the future may not allow it to be done. Next, you must apply a tourniquet or a tight bandage to the wound (preferably sterile) and treat the edges of the damaged skin with a disinfectant. Be sure to record the exact time of dressing.

You can give the victim an analgesic for pain relief. Appropriate analgin, paracetamol, "Nurofen", "Ketorol" and the like. In hospital, if necessary, can be used and stronger, narcotic painkillers. These include "Fentanyl", "Nalbuphine" or "Promedrol."

Immobilization of the damaged limb

First aid for limb fractures involves immobilization of the damaged bone site. Immaturity of the limb can be provided in several ways: the binding of the injured lower limb to a healthy one is used, fixation by improvised means, banding of the broken arm to the trunk. If it is not possible to provide transport immobilization with special tires, any flat hard object can be used. Fix the arm or leg in a normal physiological position. It is necessary to put a cotton-gauze pad between the tire and the limb.

When immobilizing, several rules and requirements should be considered:

• The tire must immobilize at least two joints to exclude additional damage to soft tissues with bone fragments;
• The size of the fixing bus should be comparable with the damaged area;
• Immobilization is carried out, as a rule, on top of clothes and shoes, however it is necessary to remove voluminous things from the victim;
• First aid for fractures of the upper extremities (as well as the lower extremities) is, as far as possible, with the assistant.

After carrying out all the necessary measures to provide pre-hospital care, you should always call an ambulance. The victim will need qualified medical care and care.