Fractures of the hands are quite common in medical practice, because when a person falls, he most often places his emphasis on the hands with his hands. At the same time, the symptoms of such an injury are specific, it is almost impossible to confuse it with damage to other areas on the hands, X-rays for fractures of the hand are done only for control purposes. Thus, it is possible to diagnose exactly the type of injury in question without professional intervention, but it is categorically impossible to perform treatment on your own. It is important to provide a person with first aid for a fracture of the hand in a timely manner and send him to a traumatologist.
Only a doctor will help to establish what exactly this fracture is, because the area of u27buXNUMXbthe human hand in question consists of as many as XNUMX bones that are interconnected and fixed with ligaments. Each of them can be easily broken.
The most common in medical practice are fractures in the lunate and scaphoid bones at the wrist. They break with a direct blow to the hand, fingers, or when resting on them during a fall.
Symptoms of injury
If an injury occurs to the hand in the area of the hand, it is important to know what exactly will indicate the fracture. So, if the hand is swollen and reddened, a swelling has appeared in its area, even a small one, a huge bruise has appeared, then this indicates precisely a broken hand.
If the hand in this zone is deformed, the hand is somehow unnaturally twisted and does not fall into place, or pathological mobility occurs in its area – the fingers bend in different directions, the hand itself unfolds at an atypical degree for it, this also indicates the occurrence of a fracture.
If the victim cannot take something with the injured hand, muscle weakness is observed in the hand, if there is a crunch of bones, if you press on the injured hand, sharp pain during hand movements, you can safely draw conclusions about the fracture that has occurred. If bleeding has opened in the area of the injured hand, this indicates an open fracture. If these signs are present, a person needs urgent primary first aid.
First aid in case of injury
Immediately after the occurrence of a traumatic situation, emergency medical attention should be called. After that, it is necessary to try to help the victim in a timely and correct manner, since first aid for fractures of the hands provides a quick diagnosis and a quick cure for the resulting injury.
If the fracture turned out to be open, it is important to immediately try to stop the bleeding that has occurred. For this, a tourniquet is useful, which can be an ordinary trouser belt, and a sterile or clean bandage made of gauze or bandage. From the wound it is required to retreat 15 centimeters up and bandage the hand. Also, in the case of open fractures, one should remember about the disinfection of the wound.
After stopping the bleeding or immediately after the injury, if the fracture is closed, you should attach the broken hand to something cold to prevent the growth of swelling. If the hand has taken an unusual shape, hangs atypically or sticks out to the side, it is important to understand in a timely manner that a fracture has occurred with a displacement, and put a hand splint on the affected bone. The hand on the arm must be completely immobilized (immobilized), for which it must be placed between two small planks and tightly wrapped.
If severe pain occurs, the victim should be given pain medication to drink. If it is impossible to call an ambulance, the patient with the injury in question should be transported to the hospital on their own.
When providing first aid and until the moment when medical control is established over the victim, make sure that he is conscious.
Loss of consciousness can occur due to pain, shock, blood loss and other factors. It is dangerous in that with a long unconscious state, the victim’s internal processes may be disrupted, as well as the tongue, which causes him to begin to suffocate, returning to consciousness. If all the recommendations for first aid for a fracture of the hand are followed, the treatment will be quick and without complications.
Treatment and rehabilitation period
After competently rendered first aid, specialists treat fractures of the hands without surgery by applying bandages. The bandage should be applied from the wrist to the elbow itself, so that the immobilization of the arm is reliable. A week after wearing a plaster bandage, specialists repeat an x-ray of the damaged area to make sure that all the bones are correctly folded, there are no displacements or other anomalies. Further, the plaster cast is not removed for 3-6 weeks, after which the fractures of the hands completely grow together. At the same time, even if the plaster should be worn for 6 weeks, after 3 weeks, specialists prescribe developing exercises that must be started to perform in order to return motor activity to all joints of the hand.
Much less often, fractures in the hand area require surgery to stabilize the bones that make up the structure of the damaged area. This causes hypermobility of this part of the arm, which must be restored during treatment. Most often, surgery is required for open injuries, if the bones are severely crushed and a significant displacement has formed.
The rehabilitation period is the most important stage in restoring the integrity of the damaged part of the skeleton. Specialists prescribe to patients physiotherapy procedures, physiotherapy exercises, as well as simple household exercises. All this should ultimately help restore healthy trophism.
It is important to remember that even a year after effective treatment, joint pain in the arm where the injury was, can be very annoying. This phenomenon is considered normal, it weakens over time, provided that the fracture healed correctly.