Treatment of nerve damage caused by fractures.

Fractures usually occur in athletes or people who participate in labor. There are many types of fractures. Some fractures can injure nerves. When a fracture injures the nerves, what method should be used to treat it?

(I) Relieve the pressure on the fracture end

For nerve damage caused by limb fractures, the fracture should be fixed manually to relieve the pressure on the nerves. If the nerves are not broken, they can be expected to recover in 1 to 3 months. Otherwise, surgical exploration should be performed as soon as possible. Some nerves are embedded between the fracture ends, such as fractures of the middle and lower parts of the humerus combined with radial nerve injury. At this time, surgery should be performed as soon as possible to avoid nerve damage during manual reduction.

(ii) Preventing excessive stretching of paralyzed muscles

Appropriate splints can be used to keep paralyzed muscles in a relaxed position. For example, a suspension spring splint can be used for radial nerve paralysis, and an anti-droop brace can be used for foot drop.

(III) Maintain joint mobility

It can prevent deformities caused by muscle imbalance, such as plantar flexion caused by peroneal nerve injury and foot drop, and claw finger caused by ulnar nerve paralysis. Passive activities should be performed to exercise the joint range of motion several times a day. If the joint is stiff or contracted, even if the nerve is restored, the limb function will not be satisfactory, especially in the hands.

(IV) Physical therapy

Massage, electrical stimulation and other methods can be used to maintain muscle tension, reduce muscle atrophy and prevent muscle fibrosis.

(V) Perform physical therapy

Exercise recovering muscles and improve limb function.

(VI) Protect injured limbs

Protect it from burns, frostbite, compression and other injuries. 2. Surgical treatment The timing of nerve repair after injury is very important. In principle, the sooner the better, but time is not an absolute factor. Late repair can also achieve certain therapeutic effects. One-stage nerve anastomosis can be performed during early debridement of sharp instrument injuries. No primary repair of nerves is performed during early debridement of firearm injuries. After the wound heals, another surgical anastomosis of the nerves is performed 1 to 3 months later. The effect of nerve repair is better in young people than in the elderly, pure sensory and pure motor nerves are better than mixed nerves, proximal to the periphery is better than proximal to the center, and early repair is better than late repair.