This book Fractures and Dislocations, Diagnosis and Treatment and Improvised Treatment

Fractures are broken bones

Caused by injury and accidents away and at home

Some are due to brittle bones at birth

Or osteoporosis from aging and menopause

Males are affected more than female

Menopause contribute to many fractures

There may severe pain and difficulty in activities

Some if untreated it may result in deformities

Lack of calcium can contribute to fracture alone

Taking more milk and fish help to strengthen the bones

Open fractures may be treated by operation

Close fractures required skills in reduction

X-rays will the confirm the severity

Open fractures may require surgery

Greenstick fracture may just require bandaging

Try to avoid strenuous activities and jogging

A fracture is a break normally in a bone.

Fractures often happen because of car accidents, falls or sports injuries.

Other causes are low bone density and osteoporosis which cause weakening of the bones.

Overuse can cause stress fractures, which are very small cracks in the bone.

Fractures of the bone are classified in two categories:

1. The simple fracture is when the bone is broken in one place.


2. The compound fracture in which the skin is pierced and the flesh and bone are exposed to infection.
   
   If the broken bone punctures the skin, it is called an open or compound fracture.
   
   Types of Fractures


3. A complete fracture is when the bone has broken into two pieces.


4. A greenstick fracture is when the bone cracks on one side only not all the way through.


5. A single fracture is when the bone is broken in one place.


6. A comminuted fracture is when the bone is broken into more than two pieces or crushed.


7. A bowing fracture which only happens in kids, is when the bone bends but does not break.


8. An open fracture is when the bone is sticking through the skin.
   
   A bone may be completely fractured or partially fractured in any number of ways (crosswise, lengthwise, in multiple pieces).

Improvised Fracture Care

Diagnosis of fractures

1. Palpable discontinuity in bone
   
   Palpation of bone is an excellent indicator of bony discontinuity, particularly in the patella, long bones, ribs, and diastasis of the symphysis pubis


2. Deformity
   
   The diagnosis of fracture or dislocation is suspected if there is deformity.
   
   Deformities tend more likely to be present if the patient manifests before there is significant edema or several days later after edema has disappeared, and if the fracture is away from the joints, is angular, is not a partial (e.g., stress, torus) fracture, and is not a compression fracture.


3. Crepitus
   
   Crepitus is a grating sound produced by contact of the broken surfaces with each other and if present is highly indicative of a fracture.


4. Shortening of a limb
   
   This is a credible sign of a long-bone fracture.
   
   Physical diagnosis comprises:


5. Observation,


6. Measurement, and


7. Palpation.
   
   Using these 3 methods, the doctor can diagnose many acute orthopedic disorders without imaging.
   
   Shoulder Dislocation
   
   Diagnosing a shoulder dislocation without a radiograph is fairly simple:
   
   The doctor should feel for the “hole” when the finger falls into the now-empty joint at the glenoid.
   
   If there is any doubt, the doctor should feel the contralateral side of the shoulder.
   
   Other signs are:


8. A flattening of the shoulder,


9. Projection of the elbow with the impossibility of bringing it to the side of the body and, most important,


10. The presence of the head of the bone in an abnormal position, below the coracoid process.
    
    An external skeletal fixator can be easily improvised using wood.

TABLE OF CONTENT

Introduction

Chapter 1 Fractures and Dislocations

Chapter 2 Hip Neck Fractures

Chapter 3 Forearm Fractures

Chapter 4 Colles Fracture

Chapter 5 Scaphoid Fracture

Chapter 6 Shoulder Dislocation

Chapter 7 Kneecap Dislocation

Chapter 8 Improvised Fracture Care

Epilogue