The foot is the part of the leg that lies below the ankle joint. It is based on 26 small bones, which are interconnected by joints. The main function of this department is to mitigate the shaking of the body when walking.
There are various foot injuries: bruises, fractures, dislocations.
Bruises and dislocations
Foot bruises are accompanied by severe pain, since the layer of skin and muscles is very thin, and the blows fall on the periosteum – the connective tissue that covers the bone. After that, edema quickly appears, which increases with time. That is why first aid is needed to reduce swelling and pain. To do this, you can put ice on the foot and try not to load the leg.
Dislocations of the foot are quite rare. The external sign may depend on which joint the injury occurred. If there is a dislocation in the subtalar joint, then the following signs appear: the foot is atypically shifted and turned with the sole inward, the outer ankle is advanced and stretched skin is visible above it. The inner ankle, on the contrary, is deepened, and the skin is retracted.
Quite quickly, with dislocations, swelling is observed. It makes reduction very difficult, so it is important to deliver the injured person to the trauma center as soon as possible. It is not necessary to adjust the dislocation on your own, since such an action is not carried out without anesthesia.
When transporting, immobilize the limb that has been injured with a splint or other improvised means, place it on a roller and apply something cold. In no case should you step on and lean on this limb, as the pain may increase, and the displacement will worsen.
Dislocations in the forefoot and midfoot cause swelling and deformity of the leg. First aid should be the same as for this problem in other joints.
If a direct blow to the foot was made, which is accompanied by severe pain and increasing swelling, then it can cause both bruising and dislocation of the foot. Outwardly, they are difficult to distinguish. With such injuries, you need to deliver the victim to the trauma center.
Fractures
Most often, the cause of the fracture is an unsuccessful jump or fall on the leg. In case of fractures of the bones of the posterior section, fragments can be displaced, which compress the tendons and skin, thereby disrupting their blood circulation. As a result – necrosis of the tissues of the foot. The first symptoms of such an injury are severe pain, swelling and bruising under the ankle joint. When pressing on the heel in the upward direction, you can feel an increase in pain.
Such a fracture requires urgent medical attention. It is very important to have time to the hospital before the edema begins to arise and develop. In this case, you need to immobilize the leg with a splint, lift it up and apply ice.
If the fracture occurred in the heel bone, then the tissues in the heel area swell, the foot flattens, and the tendon is smoothed out. At the same time, the heel visually expands. Even with a light touch on the affected area, pain is felt.
If the metatarsal bones that form the forefoot have been broken, the pain increases when pressed and the hemorrhage increases.
If the fingers are injured, then most often, the skin is damaged. In the area of damage, a hemorrhage under the skin is visible, severe pain in the fingers is noted, its axis and mobility change.
When providing assistance in case of a fracture of the phalanx, you need to remember some features. To immobilize the finger, you need to use an adhesive bandage. For this, a wide adhesive plaster is taken, which wraps around the fingers several times. If several fingers were injured at once, then such manipulation is carried out for each finger separately.
With bruises of the joint and ligaments, pain and swelling occur in the ankle area. In this case, all movements in the joint are limited. But the victim may step on the foot. The first aid in this case is to apply ice and elevate the limb. In addition, the joint must be fixed with a tight bandage.
For these purposes, you can take an elastic bandage or a special tool – a joint fixator.
There are also special splints that are applied for severe bruises and tissue swelling. These tires are inflated and contribute to the immobilization of the limb.
When the ligaments are torn, in addition to severe pain and swelling, a bruise appears. If the bruising is not very large, then the ligaments are not completely damaged. In this case, it is enough to apply a bandage bandage. If the bruising is extensive, then this will not be enough. In this situation, you will need to fix the joint with a splint.
First Aid
Before providing first aid to an injured person, it is important to determine the type of injury: open or closed. You should also understand if there is bleeding. An open injury is accompanied by profuse bleeding (arterial). At the same time, the blood is scarlet in color and beats with a “fountain”. In this case, it is urgent to apply a hemostatic tourniquet slightly above the injury. In this case, you need to attach a record of how much blood was stopped. Next, a sterile dressing is applied and the injured leg is immobilized.
Various suitable improvised means can be used as hemostatic tourniquets: belts, belts, ties. To immobilize a damaged organ, you can use standard wire tires and other items: boards, plywood.
First aid for a bruise – pain relief, cooling of the damaged leg area. With abrasions – washing the damaged area of uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe leg, covering with a sterile bandage. It is important to remember that dislocations and fractures cannot be set on their own. For closed foot injuries, you need to apply a transport splint and deliver the injured person to the nearest hospital.
With an open fracture of the foot bone, it is important to follow some recommendations so as not to aggravate the situation. If there is a risk of re-injury, the injured person should be moved to a safe place. If a person has arterial bleeding, that is, blood is scarlet and flows in a stream, you need to stop the blood with a belt, rope or piece of cloth. You can loosen such a tourniquet an hour and a half after applying it and only for a few minutes.
If the bleeding is venous, then the color of the blood is like a cherry, and the stream is rather sluggish. In this case, a pressure bandage is applied directly to the injury or slightly below. In order to treat the edge of the injury, you should cut the clothes and use brilliant green, iodine or hydrogen peroxide. After treatment, the wound must be covered with sterile gauze. You can get rid of the pain with the help of painkillers. This will help prevent traumatic and painful shock before the arrival of a team of doctors.
If it is possible to apply something cold to the injury, then ice or water in a bag is used for this. This will help stop the bleeding and reduce swelling. It is important to remember that a splint is attached to the injured leg from the uninjured side. Thus, the joints are fixed. The tire is superimposed on clothing and tightly wound to the leg. The victim must be transported to the trauma center on a stretcher in a prone position or sitting on an impromptu device, or they are waiting for doctors.
If the injury occurs at home, but there is no open fracture, then rest the leg, apply ice, and then apply a pressure bandage. The victim should lie in bed and not stand on the injured leg. If a person has a fever, appropriate medication should be given.
It is very important to follow all the recommendations so as not to harm the injured person, but, on the contrary, to reduce pain.