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Xray of Uniting Fracture of Shaft of Humerus Treated Nonoperatively

July 30, 2009 By Dr Arun Pal Singh 2 Comments

Humerus fractures are very common fractures in young adult and elderly patients.

Fracture Humerus Showing Callus Formation

Fracture Humerus Showing Callus Formation


Xray of 43 years old female who sured humerus fracture following road traffic accident. The patient was treated conservatively by plaster cast.
The present xray was taken after 3 weeks of injury which shows an attempt of union by fracture.
Though not copious, the presence of callus indicates that healing process is going on.

It may be noted that most of humerus shaft fractures heal well on conservative treatment.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Filed Under: Humerus Fractures, Musculoskeletal Radiology, Orthopaedic Images Tagged With: conservative treatment of fractures, fractures of shaft of humerus, humeral fractures, uniting fracture

What Is Functional Fracture Bracing

July 30, 2009 By Dr Arun Pal Singh Leave a Comment

functional-braceFunctional bracing of fractures of long bones was first introduced in the late 1960s. This method was quite popular during that period following Sarmiento’s work on this.  This technique was based on the proposition that freedom of motion of the knee joint and early weight-bearing ambulation could be introduced during treatment of tibial fractures without increasing shortening of the limb or interfering with fracture healing.

Early success led to the development of an orthosis similar in design that permitted freedom of motion of the ankle and knee joint. The system was expanded to include some diaphyseal fractures of the femoral shaft and fractures of the upper limbs following the success in tibial fractures.

The principle of the treatment by fracture bracing is to allow early mobilization with help of a brace that does not hamper function after the fracture has started glueing.  The initial cast is removed within two weeks and the limb is put in functional brace. [Read more...]

Popularity: 5% [?]

Filed Under: Plaster Techniques Tagged With: conservative treatment of fractures, functional fracture bracing, sarmiento, short leg cast

Xray of Intercondylar fracture Of Femur

July 29, 2009 By Dr Arun Pal Singh Leave a Comment

Intercondylar fractures of femur occur after substantial trauma. The xray is of 37 years old male who sustained this fracture following road traffic accident.

Intercondylar Fracture of Humerus

Intercondylar Fracture of Femur

Intercondylar fracture of femur causes severe knee swelling as it is an intra articular fracture.

Also visible in the image is Cramer splint.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Filed Under: Femoral Fractures, Musculoskeletal Radiology, Orthopaedic Images Tagged With: Intercondylar fracture Of Femur

What Is Spinal Shock?

July 29, 2009 By Dr Arun Pal Singh 6 Comments

When a spinal cord is damaged by trauma, it also causes a concussion like injury to spinal cord which leads to total sensory and motor power loss and loss of all reflexes for initial some period which is followed by then gradual recovery of reflexes.

This state of sensory and motor loss along with total loss of reflexes following trauma is  known as spinal shock.

Spinal shock begins within a few minutes of the injury, it make take several hours before the full effects occur. During spinal shock the nervous system is unable to transmit signals from brain to end organs as they are not routed by the spinal cord.

Usually the spinal shock recovers within 24 hours but may last over few weeks in less common cases. In some rare cases spinal cord shock can last for several more months.

Significance of Spinal Shock

The loss of these signals will result in loss of movements, sensations other body function. Complete loss of movement and sensation below the level of the spinal cord injury makes it difficult to assess the exact quantum of injury. Thus it is not possible to find the level, extent and severity of injury as patients would show compete neural loss. [Read more...]

Popularity: 25% [?]

Filed Under: Spine Injuries Tagged With: Pathophysiology of spinal Shock, recovery from spinal shock, Significance of Spinal Shock, spinal shock

Xray of Bilateral Medial Compartment Osteoarthritis of knee

July 28, 2009 By Dr Arun Pal Singh Leave a Comment

Osteoarthritis of knee is very common problem in Asian region. The disease typically starts in medial compartment of the knee and then progresses to all the compartments.

OA bilateral knee

OA bilateral knee

The xray belongs to a lady of 49 years old whose main complaint was pain on climbing stairs. An xray doen revealed bilateral medial compartment involvement.

The patient is being managed on conservative treatment.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Filed Under: Arthritis, Musculoskeletal Radiology, Orthopaedic Images Tagged With: medial compartment osteoarthritis, OA bilateral knee, osteoarthritis, Osteoarthritis of knee

Spinal Injuries – Detailed Examination After Patient Resuscitation

July 28, 2009 By Dr Arun Pal Singh 1 Comment

After initial examination , complete spine examination and neurological assessment follows resuscitation. This detailed assessment begins with review of reports from the field.

This detail examination follows a different sequence in unresponsive and awake (cooperative) patients and and awake sequence of evaluation and intervention steps differs in unresponsive patients from awake and cooperative patients.

History

If patient is responsive, a detailed history is obtained regarding acute symptoms and past history.

For unresponsive patients, a past history is obtained from family members or available previous medical records. [Read more...]

Popularity: 1% [?]

Filed Under: Spine Injuries Tagged With: detailed Examination of spinal injury, neural injury, paralysis, paraplegia, quadriplegia, spinal cord injury, spine trauma, trauma to spine

Spinal Injuries – Initial Evaluation

July 27, 2009 By Dr Arun Pal Singh 2 Comments

Spine and spinal cord are vital and complex organs. therefore there initial evaluation is also complex and involves a multitude of signs and tests. Spinal examination cannot be straightforward examination. Rather it needs to be modified as more information about the patient becomes available.

Each subsequent event in the patient’s evaluation is influenced by the findings of the initial evaluation, both for diagnosis and management of the spinal injury and for management of other potential injuries.

Severe injuries require continuous or serial examinations to monitor and diagnose conditions because some conditions may not readily apparent early. [Read more...]

Popularity: 2% [?]

Filed Under: Spine Injuries, Trauma Tagged With: resuscitation, spinal cord injuries, spine examination, spine injutries, Trauma

Osteoarthritis – Structure of Articular Cartilage

July 26, 2009 By Dr Arun Pal Singh Leave a Comment

Cartilage is the layer covering a joint. Its main function is to produce smooth articulations among the joint surfaces. Type of cartilage in synovial  joint is hyaline cartilage. Hyaline cartilage is a hard, translucent material rich in Type II collagen and proteoglycan.

To reduce the friction, the cartilage is lubricated by various mechanisms.

Synovial  joints serve as mechanical bearings with  low coefficients of friction. Their three major sources of lubrication are:

Hydrodynamic lubrication

Loading of the articular cartilage causes compression that forces water out of the cartilage. This fluid forms an aqueous layer that separates and protects the opposing surfaces.

Boundary layer lubrication

A small glycoprotein called lubricin, which is produced by synovial lining cells, binds to articular cartilage where it retains a protective layer of water molecules.

Hyaluronic acid

It i s produced by synovial lining cells and lubricates the contact surface between synovium and cartilage. [Read more...]

Popularity: 6% [?]

Filed Under: Joints, Osteoarthiritis Tagged With: articular cartilage, cartilage structure, catilage degeration, osteoarthritisjoint cartilage

Complications of Head Halter Traction

July 25, 2009 By Dr Arun Pal Singh Leave a Comment

A canvas head halter traction is often used to treat problems of the cervical spine that require only short-term immobilization. When the head halter is applied, care must be taken to see that the traction pull is parallel to the long axis of the body. The traction rope must not be allowed to rub on a high headboard or the mattress.

If necessary, the traction may be applied with the patient lying head down in bed so that the lower footboard is the site of attachment of the traction hardware. No more than 2.3 kg of weight should be applied to canvas traction.

Following are known common problems that may occur with head halter traction [Read more...]

Popularity: 2% [?]

Filed Under: Cervical Spine, Spine Tagged With: cervical traction, cervical traction complication, chin sore, Head Halter Traction, occipital neuritis, traction problem

What Is Head Halter Traction

July 24, 2009 By Dr Arun Pal Singh 2 Comments

Head halter traction is skin traction equivalent of spinal traction. Head halter traction is used in cervical ailments and injuries. It is usually used for shorter periods owing to discomfort it can cause.

Head Halter traction is of two types

Canvas type

This is most commonly used type of head halter traction. On part of the traction is slided under the head to rest on the occiput and other is rested on the chin.

A metal spreader hooks on to the two side pieces to avoid lateral compression of the soft tissues when traction is applied. [Read more...]

Popularity: 4% [?]

Filed Under: Cervical Spine Tagged With: cervical traction, Head Halter Traction
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