What is a splint? What Does It Work?
Splint is a medical medical product used to reduce complaints caused by pain, swelling and injury in the bodies of patients and to keep the area motionless. It prevents pain that may occur in the patient, especially after medical interventions to the area of the body that receives the complaint, and provides a great effect in accelerating the healing process. In the continuation of this article, we will answer the questions of what a splint is and what it does for you.
What is a splint?
In general terms, a medical product that keeps the relevant area motionless in order to reduce the pain, swelling and injury-related complaints in a certain part of the body is called a splint. It is seen that it is widely used in the arm area mostly due to orthopedics. The primary purpose of splint use is to keep the arm stable and to heal the injury in the relevant area in a short time.
The most common example of splint use; It is used to stabilize a broken bone in the process of taking the injured person to the hospital to benefit from more advanced treatment opportunities. Since the relevant area should not be moved during the treatment phase, it is very important that it is placed properly. In addition, the splint provides support for the relief of injury and pain.
Splint Application Methods
Splint is applied with 3 different methods as static, dynamic and serial;
Static Splint: Accelerates the healing process by restricting the movement of the injured and painful area.
Dynamic Splint: Contrary to static splint, dynamic splint supports the treatment by enabling the movement of the relevant area.
Serial Splint: It is the change of the splint type used at certain time intervals depending on the recovery. Serial splint is a method mostly used in the treatment of joint disorders.
How Many Days Is The Splint Used?
After starting to use the splint, it is necessary to go under a doctor's control every two weeks. In addition, during the healing process, the doctor informs the patient about the time required to use the splint and monitors the process. Usually the splint is used for 1 week or a few days depending on the injury. In fractures, the process is prolonged and it usually needs to be used between 4 and 8 weeks for the healing of the damaged area.
What is the use of splint?
The splint is primarily used to relieve the pain of the damaged area and accelerate the healing process. Splints are also used in cases such as sprains or injuries. This process is a method applied before extensive and advanced methods. At this point, it is important to use materials that function as a splint and that will not harm the body. It is recommended to use mostly air-permeable materials in the sprained or injured area, in cases requiring long treatment.
In the neck region, which is one of the most important areas, the splint must be placed by a specialist. It is very critical for the patient that the spinal cord is not injured in this region. This point should be paid attention to in order to prevent permanent damage to the patient. In addition, it should not be ignored that the size of the splint is according to the patient's body.
