8 Tips To Heal A Broken Bone
The pain and recovery of a broken bone can be so terrifying. These 8 tips can help you heal a broken bone and speed up your recovery.
If you’ve ever broken a bone, you know how frightening it can be. The pain is immediate and intense, and recovery may be too slow to bear.
Sometimes even worse than the physical stress, is the mental burden. Having to come to terms with the temporary disability and maybe loss of mobility.
But fear not! In this article, several tips have been compiled to get you from a Sam splint, to a full range of movement in the quickest time frame possible.
How To Heal A Broken Bone
Here’s what you need to do to heal a broken bone and speed up your recovery process:
1. Avoid All Movement Of The Injured Area
For the first 48 hours after a fracture, avoid all movement of the injured area. Rest is just as important as treating your injury, so try not to move it at all.
Do not use any weight-bearing activities for at least two weeks following the injury and until then, only do light exercises in your home, such as stretching.
Do not drive until cleared by your doctor; some drugs used during recovery may cause drowsiness that could affect driving performance. And even if they don’t make you tired or sleepy right away they could still affect the coordination skills necessary while driving an automobile.
So, wait until after being cleared before doing anything behind wheels again.
2. Eat Plenty Of Protein
As you may know, protein is an essential nutrient that your body needs to build new bones. Therefore, eating plenty of high-quality protein can aid in the repair of broken bones and speed up the healing process.
Not only does it help with bone repair, but it also helps with muscle repair and overall health. So, if you break your leg or a toe, eat lots of chicken breast. The more meat on your plate, the faster you will heal.
You don’t need to do anything special for this method, just make sure you’re getting enough protein in your diet each day so that your body has what it needs for repairs.
3. Elevate The Broken Limb Above The Level Of Your Heart
This is one of the most important things you can do to speed up your recovery. Keeping the injured area elevated above the level of your heart will help reduce the swelling, which then helps prevent further damage from blood flow constriction.
You should also avoid crossing your legs while sitting or lying down, as this can put additional pressure on your broken bone and cause more pain.
If you are unable to sit or stand with ease, try using pillows or cushions under your arm or leg that’s been injured so that it’s higher than the other side.
4. Use Ice Packs Regularly
Ice reduces both pain and swelling, so apply an ice pack or cold compress to your injury for 20 minutes a time, four to eight times a day.
This will help reduce blood flow, which in turn prevents bleeding into surrounding tissue; it also helps minimize bruising and swelling.
Ice packs are readily available at any pharmacy or grocery store. Additionally, you can make your own by placing crushed ice inside a folded towel and then wrapping the towel around the injured area.
5. Take An Over-The-Counter Pain Reliever
While it’s important to follow your doctor’s orders, there are some things you can do on your own to help yourself feel better as quickly as possible.
For example, take a pain reliever like ibuprofen or acetaminophen (Tylenol) within the first 24 hours after breaking a bone.
These over-the-counter medications will help reduce swelling and pain, which will make it easier for you to move around without feeling sore.
6. Wrap The Affected Area In An Inflatable Compression Device
To reduce swelling and speed up healing, wrap your injury in an inflatable compression device, like an ACE bandage. This can also help ease pain and stiffness by providing support.
The type of compression device you use will depend on the severity of your injury.
As a general rule: the longer you have to wear it, the higher level of compression you should consider using.
The most common way to do this is with an elastic bandage that is secured tightly around your limb. But there are also wraps made specifically for this purpose that can be easier to apply accurately while still being effective at providing maximum relief from swelling and speeding up recovery time.
7. Get Enough Sleep And Rest
You may be going through a tough time right now, but take it easy on yourself. Getting enough sleep and resting is important for healing.
Sleep helps the body repair itself, relax, re-energize, fight off disease and stay healthy. It’s essential to your overall health.
8. Physical Therapy
After your cast is removed and you’ve been released from the hospital, it’s important to follow up with a physical therapy program. It will help you regain full use of your injured body part as quickly as possible.
Physical therapy can begin as soon as your doctor gives the green light and can continue for many weeks or months after that.
The sooner you start physical therapy, the faster you’ll be able to resume normal activity and return to work.
Taking care of yourself when you have a broken bone is critical for a full and speedy recovery.
Conclusion
Follow up with your doctor regularly throughout recovery so that they can assess progress and make any necessary adjustments to treatment plans or goals for rehabilitation.
Now that you know what to do, you can be confident that your broken bone will heal quickly and completely.
