Greetings, dear friends! In this article we will tell you about rehabilitation after fractures, and specifically about what physical methods and natural factors are used in the resort and what impact they have. Popular balneological resorts where you can undergo effective recovery after fractures are Jáchymov, Teplice, Hajduszoboszlo, Heviz, Pyatigorsk, Belokurikha, Druskininkai and Birštonas. Here, the treatment is based on the use of natural factors such as mineral waters and mud, as well as various physical rehabilitation methods. On the portal sanatoriums.com you can find other similar resorts using the filter by disease.
Rehabilitation for a knee fracture
After removing the plaster or splint of the knee, it is necessary to undergo a course of rehabilitation in order for the joint to function fully in the future. Developing a joint requires a lot of effort and time. Even after the cast is removed, a repeat radiograph must be taken. To reduce the load on the joint, it is better not to give up crutches at first. That is why after an injury you need to exercise and go for a massage.
A few simple rules that will help restore performance and reduce rehabilitation time after a knee fracture:
- Activity. A sore leg needs time and exercise to recover. That is why the load must be given gradually.
- Simply walking will also help reduce recovery time. But you need to walk slowly, the speed should not exceed two kilometers per hour.
- It is best to use an exercise bike. It is necessary to exercise in such a way that the limb is fully straightened at the lowest point.
- Jumping is also useful, but only if the patient does not feel pain.
If there is even the slightest pain, then the exercise must be stopped. If you follow all the doctor’s instructions, do not forget about exercises and physical therapy, as well as massage, then in the near future the patient will be able to restore his working capacity.
Rehabilitation for an ankle fracture
To restore all functions of the ankle joint, the patient, along with traditional treatment, is prescribed nonspecific procedures - therapeutic exercises. You can begin to develop the joint already 2-3 days after immobilization of the limb. Each exercise at this stage of rehabilitation is aimed at achieving a specific goal:
- moving the toes of an injured leg helps quickly reduce swelling and restore blood circulation;
- flexion and extension of the injured leg at the knee joint allows you to maintain muscle tone;
- smoothly raising the leg up (in a straightened form) helps eliminate swelling and strengthens the muscles and ligaments of the leg.
The listed exercises should be performed as many times as the patient’s condition allows. If pain or noticeable discomfort occurs, gymnastics should be stopped.
The relevance of physiotherapy for injuries and fractures of the limbs
The need for this article arose due to the fact that patients with various injuries and their consequences often seek rehabilitation help at a relatively late date.
The rehabilitation process is delayed and often has little success. However, with a timely and comprehensive approach to solving the issues of treating such patients, it is possible not only to improve the patient’s quality of life, but also to completely restore the functions of the injured limbs of the victims.
For fractures without bone displacement, outpatient conservative treatment is usually prescribed. The principles of fracture treatment are simple, with restoration of bone integrity being the most important. The patient is given a fixing bandage, usually a plaster cast. This allows you to reduce pain and ensure limb immobility. For fractures with complications, for severe fractures with bone fragments, with displacement, surgical intervention is performed. In the most severe cases, fixation with metal knitting needles is used.
The patient is forced to limit his movements for a long time and, unfortunately, his rehabilitation treatment during this period. The deepest misconception is the fact that the recovery period begins only from the moment the plaster splint and all fixing devices are removed. That only from this moment you can strengthen muscles, develop movements in joints, and restore the supporting abilities of injured limbs.
It is important to understand that the treatment of fractures has two main tasks:
- complete anatomical restoration of a bone fracture (reduction and immobilizing bandage)
- full functional restoration
Thus, simultaneously with the precise reposition of bone fragments, properly carried out rehabilitation with physiotherapeutic means plays a decisive role in the patient’s cure.
It should be carried out simultaneously with surgical and orthopedic measures and carried out until complete recovery. This means that constant close contact between the surgeon and a physiotherapy and rehabilitation specialist is necessary.
General physiotherapeutic factors
There are general principles for the use of therapeutic physical factors in a specific patient during rehabilitation treatment:
- Physiotherapeutic factors must correspond to the patient’s current condition. It is necessary to adjust the parameters of physical factors throughout the entire treatment period. The dynamics of the disease requires changes in localization, area and time of exposure, intensity and frequency of the physical factor, and the appointment of additional therapeutic physical factors in the treatment complex
- Individual approach. When prescribing physiotherapy, it is necessary to take into account the patient’s age, gender and constitutional characteristics. The presence of concomitant acute and chronic diseases, contraindications for the use of a specific physical factor, general and local reactivity of the body, sensitivity threshold, autonomic background of the nervous system, psycho-emotional state of the patient.
- The absence of a pronounced therapeutic effect after the first procedures is not a reason to cancel or replace one physical factor with another.
- A significant therapeutic effect of physical factors, as a rule, occurs as a result of a course of treatment. Its duration can be 5-10-15 procedures daily or every other day.
- When undergoing a course of treatment, there is a so-called aftereffect period of the physical factor. In some cases we are talking about several weeks, and in others – up to 6-12 months. An unfinished course cannot guarantee a full aftereffect period. This should be kept in mind by patients who independently interrupt treatment after receiving initial visible improvement.
- Treatment can be combined, if two physical factors or a physical factor are used simultaneously with medications, and sequential, in which one factor follows the other, either directly or at some interval. It is also necessary to take into account that the previous and subsequent procedures should not negatively affect the body's responses to each of these procedures separately.
The main objectives of physiotherapy for injuries and fractures
The main objectives of physiotherapy (after reduction of fragments and immobilization of the limbs) in the treatment of fractures are:
- have an analgesic effect
- eliminate swelling and improve blood circulation
- combating wound infection in open fractures, preventing the development of osteomyelitis
- relieve muscle tension
- accelerate wound healing and callus formation
- prevention of the development of muscle atrophy and joint contractures
- accelerate the recovery of limb function as a whole
Physiotherapeutic methods effectively complement the surgical and medicinal components of the complex treatment process, avoid unwanted side effects and achieve lasting positive treatment results. But the key link in a successful diagnostic and treatment process is the doctor.
Therefore, procedures should be performed only after prior consultation with a specialist - for maximum effectiveness of therapy and patient safety.
Be healthy!
Head of the physiotherapy department Evgenia Alekseevna Tsymbalova
Rehabilitation for an elbow fracture
After removing the cast, it is imperative to undergo a rehabilitation course aimed at fully restoring joint mobility, returning sensitivity to the hand and restoring muscle strength. For this purpose, complex therapy is used, including:
- various types of hardware and manual massage;
- physiotherapy (mud therapy, balneotherapy), including hardware (UHF, electrophoresis);
- physical therapy;
- classes on special simulators;
- exercises with applicators.
Femoral neck fractures
Most often, femoral neck fractures occur in elderly patients. Such injuries are divided into two groups: medial and lateral:
- Medial fractures
heal on average 6-8 months. During this time, older people experience congestive pneumonia and bedsores form. In 20% of cases this leads to death, so doctors recommend surgery by inserting a metal medical nail into the thigh. After surgery, therapy is immediately prescribed. First, it includes breathing and light physical exercises, then the patient performs physical exercises to develop joints. - Lateral fractures
usually heal in just 3 months. For treatment, the classic method is used: splinting and skeletal traction. At the beginning of rehabilitation, the patient does daily breathing exercises, light bends, turns, and warm-up of healthy joints. Why is more complex physical training prescribed to strengthen muscles and tone the body? At the last stage, the patient undergoes physical therapy to restore mobility of the diseased limb.
Rehabilitation for a fracture of the wrist joint
Rehabilitation after a fracture of the wrist joint is a very important stage, as it allows you to hone all the movements performed in this joint. If treatment is carried out without rehabilitation measures, then the patient cannot perform certain functions for a long time, and sometimes they may not recover at all. Rehabilitation measures include the following:
- development of the wrist joint after a fracture due to passive or active movements in it;
- physical therapy (physical therapy);
- massage.
Exercise therapy after a fracture of the wrist joint should be developed by a rehabilitation specialist. This is due to the fact that he knows which muscle groups and what load can be applied. This will allow you to properly restore the impaired joint function. Massage of the wrist joint after a fracture will help to cope with muscle atrophy that developed during the immobilization stage. The massage should be carried out for about a month with one-day breaks between sessions. It is in this mode that the course of recovery processes in muscle tissue will be optimal.
Severity of injuries and rehabilitation procedures
There is no single answer to the question of how to recover from a compression fracture.
In each case, the rehabilitation program is drawn up taking into account the characteristics of the person, his age, and physical capabilities. It largely depends on the severity of the injury. Conventionally, there are three levels of patient complexity.
First level
This group includes people who have received a minor injury to the lumbar or thoracic region. Minor fractures include fractures that do not affect the spinal cord. In this case, motor function is not impaired, and the main tasks of recovery after a compression fracture of the spine are:
- eliminating the pain effect;
- return to physical activity;
- restoration of basic vital functions and reflexes;
- return to normal daily life.
For rehabilitation, specialists prescribe drug therapy, exercise therapy, and treatment in sanatorium-resort institutions of the appropriate profile. Usually the recovery process lasts no more than 8 months.
Second level
This includes all patients who have suffered a serious back injury affecting the spinal cord. In this case, rehabilitation involves:
- treatment of related problems in the functioning of internal organs and systems;
- gradual restoration of spinal function;
- assisting the patient in restoring basic vital functions.
A person is usually prescribed medication, acupuncture, an individual set of exercises for a compression fracture of the spine, exercise therapy, and sanatorium treatment.
Third level
This includes patients with moderate or severe trauma. It must be taken into account that it will not be possible to fully recover from it, however, the rehabilitation program allows you to return at least part of your motor functions. Work is being done to maintain hand mobility. In addition, the person is provided with assistance in adapting to new living conditions.
Rehabilitation for a shoulder fracture
Keeping the hand in a certain state for a long time has a negative impact on the muscles and mobility in the joint. As soon as normal fusion of the fragments has occurred, it is necessary to begin developing the shoulder joint after the fracture. All this can be accompanied by severe pain that requires painkillers. The development is carried out strictly under the supervision of the attending physician, who periodically prescribes X-ray examinations. During the examination, certain physical exercises are recommended. Rehabilitation activities require the following popular types of exercises:
- periodically raising the shoulder girdle 5-7 times;
- spreading and retracting the shoulder blades 5-7 times;
- flexion and extension of the forearm with the healthy arm, not reaching 90 degrees relative to the body, 5-7 times;
- with a small amplitude, flexion and extension of the shoulder 5-7 times.
A month after immobilization of the fragments, exercise therapy for a fracture of the shoulder joint can become more complicated. Now all movements should be accompanied by raising the arm to a horizontal level.
Massage
In case of a spinal fracture, massage is mandatory. It is prescribed almost immediately after the pain has been eliminated. This procedure helps:
- prevention of deformation changes in joints;
- decreased reflexivity;
- maintaining the elasticity of the ligaments.
When determining a massage technique, the number of damaged vertebrae and the overall severity of the injury must be taken into account. When performing procedures, the massage therapist ensures that spastic muscles remain at rest (not overexcited). If pain occurs, procedures are stopped immediately.
Massage techniques that are actively used are: kneading long muscles, stroking, squeezing, circular kneading of the broad muscles, rubbing the intercostal spaces, the area of the shoulder blades. Camphor alcohol is often used in the procedure. This remedy helps prevent the formation of bedsores. This is extremely important to monitor during the recovery period after a spinal fracture.
During the rehabilitation period, specialists also prescribe wearing a corset, maintaining a sleep and rest schedule, and special nutrition for spinal compression fractures, rich in beneficial microelements and vitamins. At the same time, patients need to remember that proper rest promotes faster recovery of damaged tissues, and ignore the doctor’s recommendations.