A cast is meant to hold broken bones in place until it heals. Casts help to immobilise the immediate areas around an injured joint and reduces muscular contractions, preventing further movement at the injury site. It holds the entire broken bone in the correct alignment while allowing it to heal naturally. It can either be placed to prevent surgery for minor cases or as a protective barrier after surgery depending on the seriousness of the injury. However, casts are bulky and rigid things that make movement extremely difficult. Let’s look at some ways to survive the cast.
Crutches
Your best friend throughout your time in a cast would probably be your crutches. Since movements will be severely hindered, you will definitely need assistance to move around. It is impractical to ask your family and friends to help you all the time so this is where crutches come into the picture. Crutches can help you to move around much easier and reduce dependency on your loved ones.
Wheelchair
Wheelchair is another possible means to move around in a much more comfortable method. However, wheelchairs will cause inconvenience to those around you due to the size of it and although you are more comfortable, there are more limitations to what you can do. For example, you can easily board a bus using crutches but it is impossible to board a bus that is not equipped for wheelchairs.
Elevate your legs
Prolonged periods of being in a cast can cause blood to concentrate at the injury site due to the sheer weight of it and gravity acting on it. As such, if your legs are in a cast, you should try to elevate it in a position above your heart whenever you can. Elevating above the heart will allow for proper blood circulation and promote a speedier healing process. This is especially important during your sleep whereby your feet will be in the position for at least 7 hours. Prop your legs up using multiple pillows and reduce the chances of Deep Vein Thrombosis.
Ice
Ice will help to decrease the swelling and relieve pain. However, make sure you do not cause the cast to become wet or it might start to affect the integrity of it. To prevent this from happening, place some ice inside a small plastic bag and wrap it with a towel. When possible, ice the injured region for 15 minutes every hour. This will definitely speed up healing.
Casts are bulky protective items that help to protect your injured joint or bone. It immobilises the injured part and ensures proper alignment is met during the recovery phase. As such, it will cause inconvenience to our lives and much adjustment has to be made. However, it is a crucial part of the healing process and if this step goes wrong, our joints will be affected for life.