A broken leg, without additional injuries, is usually not a life-threatening injury. If you find yourself in a situation where you must transport a person with a broken leg, it is vital that you splint the leg prior to any movement. Depending on your location and availability of materials, you can use many makeshift items such as branches of a tree or cardboard to create the splint, with the final objective remaining the same; to keep the leg immobile. Before making a splint, call 911, if possible, to ensure help is on the way.
Instructions
Examination
1. Examine the person's fractured leg carefully for additional injury. Manipulation may be necessary if the break has resulted in the leg being at an angle that cannot support a splint. If needed, straighten the bone enough to enable splint attachment, taking extra caution. If the fracture has not resulted in a leg being at an angle, splint in the position found. If there are other people around, you should ask for assistance.
2. Gather two straightening agents to make the splint. These can be boards, brooms, straight branches or anything that can hold two sides of the leg and keep it straight. These structures should measure at least 5 cm in diameter to suffice as support.
3. Measure each splint. One should be measured from the armpit to 20-30 cm past the broken leg, and the other should be measured from the groin area to 20-30 cm past the broken leg. Both splints should extend equidistant past the broken leg. This enables the leg to be held out at a reasonable distance from the body to prevent pressure from being put on the leg.
4. Find padding material. Blankets are commonly used, but any type of padding to protect the broken leg from direct and hard contact with the splints themselves will suffice. Wrap the splints themselves or lay on each side of the broken leg prior to laying out the splint to provide protection.
5. Position each splint as measured on each side of the broken leg with protective padding on the inner portion of the splint closest to the body. The shorter splint will be positioned from groin to foot on the inside of the leg. Take care not to move the leg at all, and advise patient to remain perfectly still to prevent any further damage.
6. Tie the splints to the person's body. Any material can be used so long as you can securely fasten the splint to the body, such as cloth, vines, rope or bandage. The splint should be tied in as many areas as possible above and below the fractured area, but take care to fasten ties a good distance away from the fractured area of the leg. The longer splint will be tied to the chest and abdominal cavity, and the shorter splint will be tied to various parts of the leg; do not tie around the fracture site.
7. Attach a makeshift foot bar to the bottom end of the shifts. This will act as a stirrup that will keep the foot stable and prevent it from movement which can exacerbate the damage or cause the patient additional pain. Tie the foot bar into place, placing it directly under the arch of the person's foot.
8. Assess all areas of the splint and ties to ensure circulation is not affected. Any significant empty areas around the splint should get additional padding, if needed, to keep the splint as secure as possible.
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