What is the best way to prevent movement in a broken bone?

Question

My grandmother has broken her upper arm. The surgeon says because of the severe osteoporosis she will not heal. This is the second break in the same place and the last time it took 9 months and weird devices to heal the break. They can't do general anesthetics because of allergies and won't put pins or plates in because the doc says it will just break the bone more.

She is currently in your average arm sling and a special brace and has been instructed not to move the arm at all. She is not compliant at all and continues to use the arm whenever not directly supervised. She has mild to moderate dementia. I have bandaged her hand directly to her chest to prevent movement but she still manages to move it.

I need a way to prevent her from moving the limb when she is not supervised. Can the elbow and shoulder be completely immobilized in a special sling or brace? Should we just bandage the arm directly to her side? Help I am at a loss here.

Answer 1

I feel so sorry for your grandmother, I broke my upper arm and had to have a rod and 3 screws put in it. It is very,very painful. I suggest to ask the doctor about a brace that keeps the arm close to her body. Unlike one of the other answers, she doesn't need to be moving it, until it sets. If she keeps moving it, the bone will not repair itself.
I hope you have her on some pain medication, and find some ways to keep her from getting depressed. This bone takes several months to heal.
Best of Luck,,And I congratulate you for being concerned about your grandmother. Have you looked into a home care provider to help look after her, depending on her income she may be entitled to this for free.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

She must be able to move a bit. If you bind her she may lose the use of the limb.

Stablize the break area with the sling, see if she is on any meds that may interfere with her immune system to impare it and decide how important they are or how dangerous is it to stop them.

add a liitle extra vitamin A to her diet and some vitamin C made from citric acid and water in the recommended daily amounts, if she has a scar put vitamin A and E oil from the gelcaps on the area, make sure that it's natural source vitamin E it should say that and also say d-alpha-tocopheral on the lable, If it says dl-alpha-tocopheral it's probably synthetic as the pharmacist to check if you are not sure.

Double the recommended calcium and vitamin D would be good to but the calcium is only small in the amount the body absorbs you use maybe 1 gram out of 100 that you eat, so 2 grams per day is about double the recommended amount but sources of it are absorbed differently for example calcium carbonate is not even absorbed by the body at all, try different sources
,avoid sulfate,-- maybe ascorbate or citrate if you can find these to help build the mesh to make the layers to build the bone.

Check the sling once in a while, make sure it's comfotable and supportive, look for swelling or poor circulation and check for numbness that can happen if the sling is in an uncomfortable position to too long it can impede circulation of blood and neurology, a little extra water or juice say an extra glass per day would probably also help to mend her faster.

Ob1

Answer 4

You need to speak to her doctor. I know she will not stop using the arm if no one is there to stop her. (My dad--he has Alzheimer's-- recently had a hand injury which he had to go to the hospital for and he was using the hand and picking at the bandages within a day no matter how many times my mother and I told him to stop.)
Her doctor should understand that her care is different. You or I could understand the whys of not using the arm, but your grandmother can't.
There probably is some kind of brace that can be used. Or like someone else suggested, an old-fashioned plaster cast.
If it was my dad's arm, I'd get a second opinion on the "never heal" part. You can't keep her arm strapped to her side the rest of her life. There's got to be a way.

Answer 5

The best way to immobilize the arm is by casting with Plaster of Paris, which her doctor should have done already. but maybe he or she has reasons for not doing so.
You said your grand mother has been moving the affected arm. If she doesnt have pain, then let her move if it's not bothering her at all. There might just be unsightly deformities but she wont be happipy if you limit her movements. You will just create misunderstanding and quarrels among you. I have an 89 year old demented woman neighbor at the moment with complete fructure of he right upper arm bone, and she's smoking her tobacco with her right hand! No pain pain in the fractured area and she's happy. Let her be.

Answer 6

i would say bandage it to her side but you said shes been seen by a doctor I would place a call to him or her to ask just to be on the safe side

Answer 7

Have it cast the part in plaster of paris.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007.

Answer 8

sling and plaster of paris slab and sling