Last Updated on July 31, 2019
There are many types of plaster casts used in the treatment of fractures and other ailments. Here are the major types of casts.
Types of Plaster Casts in Upper Extremity
Long arm Cast
long arm cast encases the arm from the hand to about lower two-thirds of the arm till a level below the armpit, leaving the fingers and thumbs free.
Distal extent on the palmar aspect is just till distal palmar crease and on dorsal aspect is up to knuckles.
A short arm cast, in contrast, ends just below the elbow.
Both kinds of casts, depending on the injury and prescription, the cast may include thumb or fingers. In such cases, it is called finger spica or thumb spica cast.
Types of Plaster Casts in Lower Extremity
Short & Long Leg Casts
A cast encasing both the foot and the leg to the hip being called a long leg cast, while a cast encasing the patient’s foot, ankle and lower leg ending below the knee is referred to as a short leg cast.
A walking heel may be applied for ambulation to elevate the toes and avoid direct contact with ground and contaminants.
The walking heel also creates a fluid rocking motion during the stride and allows the cast to pivot easily in any direction.
Cylinder Cast
This kind of cast is mostly used in knee injuries and afflictions. It is similar to long leg cast but n some cases, a cast may end just above the ankle distally.
{ A similar cast that covers the upper and lower arm and the elbow, but leaves the wrist and hand free is also called cylinder cast}
Body Casts
Body casts are those casts which also include the trunk. These were few are now used and that too in children. It is very rare to use a body cast in the adult.
EDF cast
An EDF (elongation, derotation, flexion) cast is used for the treatment of Infantile Idiopathic scoliosis. This is a fairly new method of treatment for correction in the United States although it was developed by Dr. Min Mehta and used overseas for some time. Scoliosis is a 3-dimensional problem that should be corrected on all 3 planes. The EDF casting method has the ability to elongate the spine through traction, derotate the spine/pelvis, and to improve lordosis and over all body shape/alignment. [source-wikipedia]
Spica Casts
Term spica is used when the cast spans the trunk of the body and one or more limbs. This is also used in cases where the cast spans limb and digits [the “trunk” of the arm and one or more fingers or the thumb].
Shoulder Spica
The trunk is covered from the shoulder of the involved side [other side is below the arm pit], to iliac crest and the involved limb is covered till wrist or hand.
Again this kind of cast is almost obsolete now.
Hip Spica
A hip spica includes the trunk of the body and one or more legs. It is extended till navel in the trunk.
A hip spica which covers only one leg to the ankle or foot may be referred to as a single hip spica, while one which covers both legs is called a double hip spica.
A one-and-a-half hip spica encases one leg to the ankle or foot and the other to just above the knee.
The extent to which the hip spica covers the trunk depends greatly on the injury.
Hip spicas are used in case of femur fracture in very young children and in cases of congenital hip dislocations, and then mostly while the child is still an infant.
Note: Some types of casts mentioned are not in use any more and their details are not discussed
