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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffBroken bones, even greenstick fractures, need to be immobilized so that they can grow back together. Casts are the most common way to keep a bone still, but your doctor may decide that a removable splint could work just as well. The benefit of a splint is that your child might be able to take it off briefly for a bath or shower.
Most casts now are made of a water-resistant material and are available in a variety of colors or designs. Unless the lining of the cast is also waterproof, your child should not go swimming wearing a cast.
Your doctor may want to X-ray the bone again after seven to 10 days to make sure it's healing properly.
Children's bones tend to heal faster than do those of adults, so your child's cast or splint may be removed or replaced with a smaller cast in as little as three to four weeks.
- Carson S. Pediatric upper extremities injuries. Pediatric Clinics of North America. 53 (2006);41-67.
- Hay WW. Orthopedics: Trauma, fractures. In: Current Pediatric Diagnosis & Treatment. 18th ed. The McGraw Hill Companies; 2007. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2351689. Accessed July 22, 2008.
- Hopkins-Mann C, et al. Section 12: Musculoskeletal disorders in children. In: Tintinalli JE, et al. Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine: A Comprehensive Study Guide. 6th ed. The McGraw Hill Companies; 2004. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=598149. Accessed July 22, 2008.
- Green NE. Fractures of the forearm, wrist and hand. In: Skeletal Trauma in Children. 3rd ed. Saunders, St. Louis, Mo.; 2003. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/100201301-4/728371990/1219/127.html#4-u1.0-B0-7216-9294-X..50013-2--cesec62_310. Accessed July 23, 2008.
