First aid for sprain and dislocation

Emergency care skills often help save a person’s life. After all, doctors can not always come instantly. Therefore, we suggest you study what the first aid consists of in case of joint sprain, bruises, dislocations and fractures. If you study these simple actions, then with mild forms of injury you can cope on your own.

What is a dislocation, sprain, bruise and fracture?

Sprain is damage to the soft tissues of the ligaments or those around the joint. As a rule, the blood vessels adjacent to the rupture site also suffer. To earn stretching, it is enough to stumble, slip, exaggerate physical activity.

Dislocation - this is the result of bone loss from its place ("nest"). In other words, the articular bones are displaced. For example, as a result of severe physical exertion or some kind of body movements. Most often, such parts of the body as the leg, arm, finger and shoulder are subject to dislocation.

A bruise is damage to tissues (sometimes organs) without disturbing their structure. With minor injuries, the skin, fiber, subcutaneous tissue, muscles and periosteum are injured. During severe bruises, internal organs can be damaged and tissue necrosis can occur.

Fracture is a violation of the integrity of the bone as a result of severe damage. There are open fractures when adjacent tissues are injured, skin and a wound is formed, and closed.

Inexperienced people can confuse a dislocation with a closed fracture. The main distinguishing feature of the latter is that the pain does not go away even after a while, and the injured place begins to swell and change color to dark blue.

Signs and Symptoms

Both of these injuries, dislocation and sprain, are often confused with fractures, as they have similar symptoms:

• pain in or around the lesion;
• swelling (swelling, hematoma);
• complete or partial inability to carry out movements;
• deformation of a limb or part of the body (characteristic of open and closed fractures, dislocations);
• any color change (discoloration, bruising, blue).

What is needed for first aid?

First aid for dislocation and sprain is not possible without some materials:

• an elastic bandage or something that can replace it in the near future (for example, a rag, clothes, a regular gauze bandage, towel, bedcloth, and so on);
• scissors;
• a tire that can be replaced with any flat, solid object (such as a stick).

First aid

First aid for sprains and other injuries is to minimize further damage to the damaged area and not cause deterioration.

If a person is not familiar with the rules of first aid, then it is better not to take any action, since even one incorrect movement can lead to serious consequences.

Sprain

First aid for sprain and rupture of ligaments:

1. Bandage the damaged limb tightly. But do not disturb circulation. To control this, it is better to leave your fingertips unbanded, as their color will signal a violation of blood circulation.
2. Reduce the functionality of a damaged limb by placing it in a bandage.
3. Take the victim to a medical facility where they must have an x-ray. This is necessary in order to exclude fractures and confirm or refute ligament rupture.

In severe cases, sprains or tearing, a plaster cast is required. At home, this is not possible, so medical intervention is simply necessary.

With simple sprains, the injured should temporarily stop playing sports, in particular, run and ride a bicycle. And to reduce the load on the limb with sprained ligaments, use special auxiliary devices:

• orthopedic insoles if the foot is damaged;
• bandages if the arm is injured;
• clips if the finger is damaged.

At first bed rest is desirable.

Bruises

First aid for bruises and sprains is somewhat different and has the following sequence of actions:

1. If the injury is accompanied not only by a bruise, but also by an abrasion, then the damaged area must be disinfected with the help of brilliant green, iodine or hydrogen peroxide.
2. An ice pack is applied to the bruised area for twenty minutes.
3. A tight pressure dressing is applied.

For three days, cold can be applied to the bruised place, after which it is replaced with a warm heating pad. For speedy healing, the injured area can be lubricated with special ointments and gels from bruises.

In most cases, medical attention is not required. But if, after a bruise, the victim experiences dizziness, fainting, or if the injury was severe and was applied to the abdomen, head, and back, then the help of medical personnel is simply necessary, since there is a risk of internal bleeding.

Also, in order to determine whether professional medical intervention is necessary, it is not recommended to give the victim any painkillers on the first day. Since they can hide the symptoms of a serious injury that was difficult to recognize at first.

Dislocations

First aid for dislocations:

1. The dislocated part of the body should be fixed with a tire.
2. Place cold in place of dislocation.
3. Try to immobilize the dislocated limb as much as possible. For example, if your arm or shoulder is damaged, then make a bandage over a healthy shoulder.
4. Take the victim to a medical facility.

If you do not have a medical education, and you did not take first aid courses, it is better not to try to insert a dislocated limb into place. There is a possibility that the hand, foot or finger will stand up incorrectly and the pain inflicted is too great to justify the mistakes.

At first, it is advisable to observe bed rest.

Open fractures

First aid for fractures and sprains is provided differently. This is especially true for open fractures.

Procedure during first aid for open fractures:

1. It is necessary to remove bone fragments and other possible objects from the wound with tweezers.
2. The skin around the lesion is treated with five percent iodine solution or hydrogen peroxide.
3. A bandage of a sterile bandage is applied.
4. Damaged place is fixed with a tire, under which it is necessary to put a cotton-gauze pillow or something soft.

After first aid, the victim must be urgently sent to a medical institution, where professionals will do all the necessary manipulations.

Closed fractures

Help with closed fractures is similar to first aid for sprain:

1. The damaged area is bandaged rather tightly.
2. If the wounded has a limb fracture, then it must be placed in a bandage or fixed.

After that, the wounded man is taken to a medical facility, where he is given an x-ray and a plaster cast is applied.

How to apply a bandage?

First aid for sprains and other injuries mainly consists in correctly applying a bandage to the damaged area.

Of course, depending on the type of injury (a simple bruise, dislocation, joint sprain, fractures, etc.), the dressings may differ from each other. But the principle of their imposition remains the same:

1. A person who provides first aid should have clean hands. Ideally, they should be washed with soap, if this is not possible or you need to act immediately, then it is enough to treat them with some antiseptic (sprays, wipes).
2. If the injured place is with abrasion or there is an open fracture, then the area around the bruise (fracture) must be treated with hydrogen peroxide, iodine or brilliant green. In extreme cases - with alcohol.
3. The victim is placed in a comfortable position with a convenient approach to the injured place.
4. Bandage in a spiral from the bottom up. For example, if the arm or leg is damaged, the bandage is directed from the fingers to the body.
5. The first few turns of the bandage are fixing, that is, it is tightly wrapped around a limb or body, and placed at a certain distance from the damage.
6. Each new layer of bandage should cover the previous one-third.
7. The last turns of the bandage are the same as the first ones - fixing and located above the injured area.

For greater reliability, you can cut the end of the bandage into two parts, wrap them around the damaged area and tie it.

First Aid Notes

First aid for sprains and other injuries will not be provided correctly if the person who provides it does not follow the existing notes.

Their list includes the following:

• Do not try to insert a fracture or dislocation into place on your own - this can lead to further injuries.
• It can be difficult for people without a medical education to determine the nature of the injury - a fracture, dislocation or sprain. When in doubt, always treat injuries as a fracture.
• In case of a collarbone fracture, keep your hand slightly away from the victim by making a bandage.
• If you suspect a joint dislocation, then rest the damaged area and attach an ice pack to it.

After injuries, the victim may occasionally experience slight unpleasant sensations in the injured area (for example, pulling pains that appear with the change of weather from sunny to rain). But such a result is possible with almost one hundred percent probability if first aid for sprains, dislocations, bruises and fractures was not correctly provided. Therefore, this is another motivation to comply with all points from the above notes.

The most important thing is that first aid for sprains, dislocations, bruises and some other injuries should be provided by a person who has not succumbed to panic and thinks sensibly. In most cases, the healing of damaged areas depends on this.