The muscular system of the human body requires constant training, since only through movement do the cells of tissues and organs receive a sufficient amount of oxygen and nutrients. In the absence of movement, their supply suffers, and cells begin to die. This process manifests itself in muscle atrophy.
A good example is a fracture of one or both lower extremities. This is a serious injury that requires rehabilitation measures, which necessarily include leg massage after a fracture.
Treatment for a broken leg involves applying a plaster cast and a tension system. As a result of injury and restriction of movement due to the cast, motor activity is reduced several times. The result is gradual atrophy of muscle fibers.
To prevent its development, you should perform a special foot massage. Simple massage movements can achieve amazing results and keep the musculoskeletal system in “decent shape.”
The main objectives of massage after a fracture are as follows:
Important! After all the goals have been achieved, it is necessary to increase motor activity through a set of special gymnastic exercises and physical therapy.
Carrying out a massage is a rather lengthy process. The procedure requires some patience, but complete completion of the course will result in the mobility of the damaged leg being fully restored.
In addition to massage, you need to attend physical therapy, eat right, lead a healthy lifestyle and get enough sleep.
The procedure of massaging the legs after a fracture may not be carried out in all patients. There are a number of medical contraindications to it, which include:
It is not recommended to massage the fracture site after removing the bandage if there is a large callus.
Doctors do not prohibit doing massage yourself at home, but it is recommended to carry out the first few procedures with a professional massage therapist. The specialist will show the basic movements, their strength and frequency, and warn against unnecessary mistakes.
Important! It is necessary to massage not only the sore limb, but also the healthy one. This will allow you to maintain the full functioning of both limbs and shorten the rehabilitation period after removing the cast by several times.
Performing massage movements directly under the cast is necessary to increase blood flow. It is enough to perform the following manipulations:
You can ask to make small holes in the plaster cast, through which, using a regular stick, you can apply slight pressure on the leg as a massage. This will be enough to maintain normal blood flow and tissue nutrition. But it is recommended to perform such manipulations a couple of weeks after applying the bandage.
Another way is to use a long cylindrical knitting needle made of natural material. It should have a rounded blunt end to prevent damage to the skin. It is necessary to massage the areas between the leg and the cast. The needle easily penetrates the closed areas of the leg and easily increases blood supply.
In case of a fracture, doctors recommend starting massage on the third or fifth day after applying a plaster cast. It is enough to perform massage exercises for five minutes to achieve a positive effect. All techniques should be done moving in opposite directions from the bandage. There should not be any pain.
As an example, we can take the following massage complex:
Between treatments, it is recommended to perform stroking to relieve the stress on tissues and muscles.
Often after an injury and because of the plaster cast, the leg begins to swell. Massage is great for relieving swelling. In addition to it, you can make baths with medicinal herbs or sea salt. 100 grams of salt per liter of water is enough for the bath to have its therapeutic effect and the swelling to subside.
Self-massage procedures with cedar oil also help greatly. If the latter is not available, then you can take any other. It is necessary to make gentle stroking movements from the fracture site up and down to increase blood circulation and improve lymph flow.
A good way to prevent edema is to wear comfortable shoes with orthopedic insoles or walk without shoes at all. When a massage is performed to eliminate swelling after removing the plaster, painful sensations often occur. To get rid of them, you can use a special ointment with an analgesic effect (Ketorol, Nise).
To complete rehabilitation after a leg massage, it is recommended to perform physical therapy exercises. They should be done after appropriate warming up of the muscles.
One of the simplest exercises is regular walking. It is enough to walk a few meters every day with little emphasis on the sore leg so that the muscles receive the necessary amount of oxygen and nutrition.
Rotational movements of the lower limb have proven themselves well. But they should be performed only ten days after the plaster is removed. Alternate leg lifts will help provide the necessary muscle load. To do this, just briefly raise your straightened leg up and hold it in this position for five to ten seconds. If pain occurs, the exercise should be stopped immediately.
Raising from heel to toe and back is very useful. In this case, you should hold onto a stable support with your hands, and stop if the slightest pain appears. From a lying position, you can do cross leg swings. With their help, almost all muscle groups in the legs are worked out.
Restoring a leg after a fracture is not easy, since it is necessary to return the limb to the state it was before the injury.
A full-fledged comprehensive program is developed by a specialist, and everything else depends on the patient himself. Not only the speed of recovery, but also the further full mobility of the limb depends on how accurately and fully a person follows all the instructions of the attending physician.
At first, all of the listed activities will be given with certain difficulties, but over time, the injured leg will no longer differ from the healthy one. Then you can start running, which will completely strengthen the musculoskeletal system and allow you to feel the fullness of life with all its colors.
Therapeutic massage after a fracture is an integral part of rehabilitation therapy after a limb fracture. Moreover, the sooner the course is started, the faster the full range of functional capabilities of the limb will be restored.
But it should be noted that the massage should be carried out in accordance with the process of formation of callus and the doctor’s recommendations. When a strong callus is visible on the control image, only then can you begin a course of rehabilitation, which includes massage after fractures.
In addition to therapeutic massage in specialized medical institutions or in a private massage room, there are some other methods for restoring work capacity after a fracture. For example, self-massage, acupressure, physical therapy, swimming.
While the limb is in a cast, a full or gentle massage is impossible. But even in this case, you can indirectly influence the damaged area. During the initial stages of bone healing under a cast, care must be taken to normalize blood flow and relieve swelling.
You can do massage through plaster yourself:
Recommendations! Any type of self-massage should be carried out “without fanaticism.” The appearance of discomfort is a signal to weaken or stop the massage.
After a fracture of the upper limb, the instructions instruct you to massage the entire upper half of the body: the shoulder girdle, the cervical region, the healthy arm and, of course, the sore arm. The difference lies in the intensity of the massage - more gentle techniques are used on the sore hand, but each time the impact on the tissues of the hand increases.
Massage technique for fractures:
Massage of the sore arm is done in a descending direction, that is, from top to bottom. So, in case of a fracture of the forearm, first of all the shoulder is massaged, then the elbow joint, the next step is gentle kneading of the forearm, carefully going around the fracture site, and finally the specialist moves on to the hand.
If the humerus is fractured, a therapeutic massage session should begin with the shoulder girdle. Then - a gentle massage of the shoulder and then the elbow joint, forearm and hand.
A massage session of the lower extremities begins from the back. Moreover, the back is massaged from bottom to top, from the sacrum to the thoracic region. Particular care should be taken to massage the area around the spine. Next, a massage is performed on the gluteal muscles and the healthy leg, and only after this the specialist moves on to massaging the sore leg.
The therapeutic massage procedure on the lower limb is also carried out from top to bottom - from the thigh to the toes. In case of a tibia fracture, small amplitude rotational movements should be made in the ankle joint to develop the joint after prolonged motor restriction in a cast.
Foot massage after a tibia fracture plays a very important role. There are many active points on the sole of the foot that affect the entire body, including activation of regeneration processes that help restore performance at an accelerated pace.
Acupuncture is an important part of treatment if it is impossible to influence the fracture site under a cast and immediately after removing the cast. Massaging certain points helps reduce the time of bone fusion, relieve swelling, eliminate muscle atrophy, and normalize blood flow in the limb under the cast.
Activation of the points occurs not only with the help of massage, but also with the help of acupuncture, exposure to high temperatures (warm stones).
Is it possible to massage a fracture? An open fracture is damage to the periosteum, muscle fibers, nerve endings, blood vessels, subcutaneous fat layer and skin by bone fragments. And any physical impact immediately after surgery on the limb is strictly prohibited. But as soon as the doctor notes the formation of a callus in the image and the healing process of the soft tissue begins, you can begin a gentle massage of the limb.
At the last stages of the rehabilitation course, when the fracture has almost healed, the massage specialist no longer bypasses the fracture site, and the intensity of the massage is the same throughout the entire area.
The price of a rehabilitation massage course depends on the location of the fracture, its severity and the duration of the rehabilitation course itself.
Photo on the topic of the article:
The video in this article shows the basic principles of rehabilitation after fractures, including massage
Isn’t it necessary to determine such an important point here as the qualifications of a massage specialist, his education, recommendations, level of knowledge and access to patients? After all, people after a fracture, especially the elderly, as well as young children, should receive a particularly careful course of massage, gentle, from a massage therapist who is well acquainted not only with physiology, but also with age restrictions. Recently, various types of massage parlors have become very fashionable, the staff of most of which is questionable. But our people like not to strain themselves, and instead of going to an accredited professional in the physical room of a clinic, they call charlatans to their home.
After breaking my leg, I was advised to massage myself, or with the help of my husband. My husband massaged the know very gently, and indeed the pain went away quietly... In your article I found new massage methods, I will ask my husband to do more)
I know firsthand what a fracture is. At one time, my younger sister broke her leg. And after the cast was removed, she was prescribed a mandatory massage. It’s expensive to go to a private clinic and get a massage, and the state clinic, as always, did not have a specialist. We were lucky that our neighbor's daughter was a professional masseuse; we managed to agree on a price.
Massage after fractures is very important to restore normal blood circulation and limb function. Do not neglect the advice of specialists and do not ruin your health.
For me, fractures have already become a chronic disease: I have already broken almost all my bones. In addition to proper massage, I highly recommend trying to move and develop the broken limb while it is still in a cast (without fanaticism, of course). If this is not done, then after removing the plaster the limb becomes stiff, and it will take a lot of time to develop it.
After a leg or foot fracture, it is necessary to perform a massage before removing the cast. Massage the healthy limb, as well as the injured one above and below the plaster cast.
Massage after a broken leg
In order to perform a massage under a plaster, it is necessary to leave small “windows” when immobilizing a limb with a splint or plaster bandage, or, after application, make small holes in the plaster in several places in order to use massage sticks to perform acupressure percussion massage of the leg or in the foot area to activate blood circulation and lymphatic drainage. This will speed up tissue regeneration, callus formation and help bones heal faster.
A leg massage is performed after applying a cast using not only sticks, but also a Xue-Bao magnetic acupuncture apparatus produced by the Chinese company Tianshi. It has an anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect, activates microcirculation of energy and blood, improves and strengthens metabolism in the skin and muscles in the fracture zone. There are no side effects when working with the Xue-Bao magnetic device; you can work with two magnetic sticks at the same time.
For zonal spectacle massage, you can use a natural mineral druse with a blunt end so as not to scratch the inflamed skin under the cast. Usually quartz crystals are used for these purposes, since they are dielectrics and do not conduct electric current when dry. This massage is an alternative to acupuncture. You can simply tap the plaster with a jade hammer or a ball with a handle.
Massaging the muscles of a healthy leg again activates blood circulation and lymphatic drainage, strengthens the muscles, the strength of which will be necessary for the victim during the rehabilitation period after the removal of the cast. Some of the life-giving hot energy will be transferred to the damaged leg, which will speed up the process of bone fusion.
It is necessary to train muscles after a fracture every day, since they are involved in the functioning of the musculoskeletal system. Passive muscle training on the injured leg is massage of the leg or foot above or below the cast (fracture). During muscle work, fresh oxygen and nutrition are delivered with a new blood flow, which accelerates life-giving processes and restores tissue, relieves swelling, hematoma and pain.
If you do not perform massage and some passive physical exercises after a fracture, then while wearing a cast the load on the muscles stops or decreases. Atrophy of muscle cells occurs, which will prolong the period of tissue restoration while wearing a cast and rehabilitation after removal of the cast.
After the cast is removed, the period of rehabilitation of the injured leg after a fracture begins, the task of which becomes:
Leg massage after a fracture during rehabilitation
The first stage of rehabilitation begins even after the application of the plaster, since massage after a fracture is performed on a healthy limb and above and below the plaster with cedar oil or fir, turpentine or oleoresin. If it is possible to take a bath on the ankle (up to the border of the cast) with the addition of decoctions of medicinal herbs, essential oils or sea salt (100 g per 1 liter of hot water), this will speed up the fusion of bones. Warming procedures with wax or ozokerite to remove plaster will restore tissue faster.
The second stage of rehabilitation includes the above, if in the first period it was not possible to do all this. Perform a gentle massage of the limb, including the fracture zone, after removing the plaster:
As an exercise after removing the splints, walk, fully relying on the injured limb. 7 days after removing the plaster, carefully rotate the foot. Holding onto the back of a chair or against a wall bars, swing your leg forward or to the side, holding it in the air. It is not recommended to experience pain.
After massaging the limb, you can move from heel to toe in a standing position and, vice versa, on both legs and on the injured leg. Lying on your back, perform a “bicycle” and cross leg swings.
The third stage of rehabilitation is supplemented with proper nutrition: foods containing microelements such as calcium, silicon, and vitamins.
Added to therapeutic massage:
The duration of the massage depends on the patient’s condition and the complexity of the fracture and pain. After a massage, poultices with medicinal herbs, salt, paraffin or wax compresses have a beneficial effect. After them, it is recommended to wrap the leg until it cools completely, and then work out the joint or limb.
The ankles are the bones that, together with the heel, make up the ankle joint. The ankle experiences stress during the day when a person walks, more often if the person is overweight. An ankle fracture occurs when the leg is twisted, hit, fell, and many other cases. This is a complex injury, so rehabilitation after an ankle fracture is required, after the cast is removed.
A bone fracture is a violation of the integrity of bone tissue. When an ankle fracture occurs and the fragments are displaced, the doctor needs to set the bone, align the fragments, and only then apply a plaster cast.
In many cases, surgical treatment of the injury is required.
Symptoms of an ankle fracture are:
Pain is felt immediately after bone damage, but in a state of passion it is felt later. This is an acute pain that prevents the patient from standing on his leg. It intensifies when touching the damaged area. A life-threatening condition for the victim is pain shock. A state of shock develops with massive injuries.
If a crunch is clearly heard during the injury, this indicates that the bone has broken.
Swelling occurs quickly, and the tissues become harder due to damage to small capillaries. When large vessels are damaged, the entire leg swells. Hematoma appears as dark spots. It indicates hemorrhage into the soft tissues.
The foot is limited in movement, and the patient cannot walk or move the limb normally.
You urgently need to see a traumatologist if there is pain at the site of injury, the joint has changed its shape or has increased in size too much. To diagnose the type of fracture, the patient is given an x-ray.
The doctor puts an anesthetic injection at the site of the injury, then corrects the displacement, if any.
After measures have been taken, a plaster cast is applied to the injured leg. After casting, x-rays are repeated to ensure the correct position of the limb.
In severe cases, casting is performed after surgery, when the bone is collected using plates. When the integrity of the bone cannot be restored, a bone transplant is performed.
The duration of the rehabilitation period after injury to the ankle bones depends on the nature of the injury. If there were no complications, then recovery will occur within one or two months.
If the injury is displaced, the bone will take longer to heal and rehabilitation will take six months. At this time, it is important to follow the rules of proper nutrition and diversify the menu with iron, calcium and phosphorus.
During the rehabilitation period, you cannot lean on the injured leg; you can move only with the use of crutches.
For proper fusion of bones, a temporary cast is used, after which a closed cast is applied for a long time.
Important! After the cast is removed, the patient undergoes a rehabilitation course, since during this period the limb does not move well. For this purpose, massage, therapeutic exercises and physiotherapy are prescribed.
It is important to attend massage courses after removing the cast or do it yourself. In cases where the limb is swollen, massage helps remove the swelling and restore sensitivity to the tissues. To do this, use stroking, rubbing movements, kneading. During massage, various oils are used with an effect that improves lymph flow.
At first, massaging the leg brings discomfort, so its surface is lubricated with anesthetic ointment. Massage is performed exclusively by a specialist, especially in the case of a displaced injury.
Physiotherapeutic procedures must be performed throughout the recovery period. Such activities improve blood circulation, relieve swelling and pain.
Physiotherapy can speed up the healing process. This effect is achieved due to improved blood circulation in the area of injury.
To speed up recovery and relieve swelling, the following procedures are prescribed:
After performing physiotherapeutic procedures and leg massage, restoration of its function occurs with the help of physical therapy. Exercises develop a joint that has been immobile for a long time. Muscles regain mobility and elasticity.
The first exercises are carried out under the supervision of a specialist, and later the patient independently performs them at home. The duration of exercise therapy does not exceed 10 minutes per approach. The load increases gradually as you recover.
If the exercise is accompanied by pain, the patient needs to stop immediately and rest.
The exercises are quite simple:
Every day, patients study for 10 - 15 minutes, doing 3 or 4 sessions every other day. Daily exercises are carried out after the pain during exercise has passed.
Important! Don't try to develop a joint in a short time. Intense exercise in the first periods after recovery will harm the limb.
A few more simple exercises for rehabilitation after an ankle fracture are presented in this video:
An ankle fracture is a serious disorder with characteristic symptoms. In mild cases, healing occurs quickly, and in severe cases it lasts about 6 months. If you fracture your ankle, you must immediately contact a traumatologist for treatment. If you ignore this recommendation, the bone will heal incorrectly and will cause difficulties in moving in the future.
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Leg massage after a fracture, carried out by Yudu specialists, will allow you to quickly restore the injured limb. You can start the procedure even when your leg is in a cast.
Experienced massage therapists offering services on YouDo will provide a restorative therapeutic massage of the hip and ankle at home at a time convenient for you.
You can order a restorative massage:
The cost of massage treatments from private specialists will be lower than the prices offered by medical institutions. This is possible because Yudu performers do not need to rent office space or pay salaries to employees.
Specialists registered with Yuda have permits to perform massage of the lower extremities. You can contact a specialist for help before the rehabilitation period begins. While the broken lower limb is in a cast, the massage therapist will perform the procedure with special sticks.
In addition to the rehabilitation of the injured leg, a massage therapist, whose services can be ordered on Yuda, will massage the healthy limb. Properly performed procedures can speed up the process of tissue regeneration, avoid the formation of bone calluses, and promote rapid tissue fusion.
Massage of the lower leg after a fracture, performed by Yudu specialists, allows you to activate blood circulation and lymphatic drainage - thanks to this, the rehabilitation period passes quickly.
The cost of work for massage therapists registered on Yuda varies. The price for the services of qualified specialists depends on:
After removing the cast, order a leg massage from experienced Yudu specialists, and massage treatments will cost you inexpensively.
The musculoskeletal and articular apparatus of the foot is one of the most complex structures in the human body. In a healthy foot, everything works as a single mechanism, synchronized and well-functioning. The injury disrupts the functioning of the system, malfunctions and leads to persistent pain, problems with walking and even poor posture.
Metatarsal fractures are the most common foot fractures. They account for about 6% of all bone injuries. Each case must be analyzed by a specialist traumatologist, because the nature and location of the injury determine an individual approach to treatment. Any complication after an injury will negatively affect a person’s health.
The foot has several important functions:
The foot is an anatomically complex structure. These are muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, soft tissues. It is represented by 26 bones, of which only five are metatarsal, the longest, representing the middle section of the foot (between the tarsus and phalanges). Their main function is to serve as a kind of lever during walking, running and jumping. Metatarsal fractures are equally common among men and women. Due to the anatomical location (anterior part of the base of the foot), damage to the fourth and fifth metatarsal bones is more common. A fracture of the 5th metatarsal bone (Jones fracture) is often displaced and extends beyond the plane of the foot. Traumatologists consider it the most insidious and difficult to treat injury. The fifth metatarsal bone has anatomically limited blood circulation. Therefore, healing due to insufficient blood supply occurs very slowly, and in some cases the bone does not heal at all.
Foot injuries are classified according to several indicators. If one bone structure is damaged, it is a single fracture. Accordingly, two or more are plural. According to location, the fracture can be:
Along the fracture lines:
In addition, a metatarsal fracture can be traumatic and stress-related. Traumatic – a consequence of mechanical influence from the outside. Fatigue (stress fracture) in the form of cracks appears as a result of frequent, constant loads on the feet.
There are several factors that provoke injury:
The number of signs of a fracture depends on the type of injury. After a traumatic injury, a crunching sound is heard. Then the foot begins to swell and a bruise appears. There is noticeable shortening of one of the fingers and its unnatural deviation. Afterwards, the pain at rest may subside. But as soon as the foot has the slightest load, it resumes with renewed vigor.
A stress fracture produces an aching, dull pain that feels similar to muscle pain. This pathology most often affects professional athletes, army recruits after intensive combat training, and tourists. It is also called a march fracture. But for those who love sports and enjoy running, a marching fracture can also happen. People whose professional activities take place “on their feet” are also at risk. Women who prefer high-heeled shoes also suffer from this disease.
The situation can be aggravated by osteoporosis, foot deformity, flat feet, poor-quality shoes that are not suitable for the size and type of activity. A marching fracture is more often observed on the second, less often on the third and fourth, and even less often on the first and fifth metatarsal bones.
What's happening? From strong and intense work, the muscles begin to tire and lose their ability to withstand the load. Part of the load is transferred to the bone structures. Small cracks appear on them. A marching fracture causes pain in the midfoot.
During rest, the pain completely disappears, but then when moving the foot it returns. Lameness appears and gait changes. Swelling may occur, but without hemorrhage. The area with the injury hurts when pressed. One or more bones may be affected.
A marching fracture does not show a characteristic line of damage on an x-ray. The metatarsal bone breaks like a “green stick”: the structure inside is broken, and on top it is held in place by a thin layer of bone. If sharp pain upon palpation at the base of the metatarsus is combined with swelling, the diagnosis is obvious to the traumatologist.
Treatment, unlike other bone pathologies, does not require reduction and plaster immobilization. Doctors recommend treating swelling and pain with the help of special pain-relieving gels, creams, and ointments. For a time, you should limit the load on the front of the foot and eliminate the activity that caused the injury.
Treatment is supplemented with orthopedic insoles. They make it possible to relieve excessive stress on the bones, and thereby make it easier to endure the disease. Such damage heals quickly and without consequences, the prognosis is favorable.
Treatment after traumatic fractures includes a set of measures in several main areas. The main thing is immobilization with a hard plaster cast along the entire length of the foot with capture of the ankle joint. Immobilization will allow the bones and ligaments to be completely at rest, and will not allow bone fragments to move further.
After an injury with a displacement of more than half the width of the bone, surgical treatment is indicated. During surgery, the doctor compares fragments of bone structures and fixes them with special devices. Surgical treatment is also indicated for open fractures. Surgical treatment is carried out using the method of percutaneous fixation with pins or open reposition (external osteosynthesis). According to the first method, displacement reposition is performed closed. Afterwards, taking into account the nature of the damage, the bone is fixed in certain directions with knitting needles.
Using the open reduction technique, a surgical incision is made, access to the damaged bone is provided, displacement is eliminated, and then it is fixed in the correct position. Immobilization with plaster is not indicated. The patient is allowed to walk on his heel for 4 weeks.
Non-displaced injuries are treated with a plaster cast for 4 to 6 weeks. The patient must move using crutches. Any load on the foot should be completely eliminated. After a control x-ray, when the doctor is convinced that the treatment was successful and the fracture has healed, the patient is allowed to step on his leg.
For a favorable outcome, rehabilitation must be included in treatment. Rehabilitation is therapeutic exercises, a course of physiotherapeutic procedures, massage and drugs that help restore bone tissue. How long the rehabilitation will take and the timing of full recovery directly depend on the severity of the injury, compliance with the doctor’s prescriptions and the individual characteristics of the body. Typically, it will take about three weeks for your foot to fully recover after the cast is removed. Rehabilitation with massage will restore muscle and joint mobility.
Effective rehabilitation is impossible without special exercises. Therapeutic gymnastics is simple, consists of simple exercises:
Adequate treatment and rehabilitation for metatarsal fractures are important and should not be neglected. Complications from an injury can be unpleasant. How many people suffer after an injury from foot deformities, arthrosis, limb dysfunction, constant pain and chronic fatigue in the legs. The foot is the support of the human body. She needs to be protected.
During surgical treatment, I advise you to consult with doctors about the manufacturer of the fixatives being installed for you. Don't settle for Chinese ones. As a rule, they behave very poorly in the body, sometimes causing rejection up to a complete replacement of the structure. My brother had such an unpleasant story with Chinese implants
Massage is considered one of the most effective methods of treatment and rehabilitation of closed types of fractures and consists of physical influence in the form of rubbing, kneading and vibration in a certain sequence and system.
Experts recommend starting the massage procedure from the second day after the injury, since it will help the bone heal faster and relieve pain. Also, massaging the damaged area will promote the resorption of hemorrhages, prevent muscle atrophy and accelerate the formation of callus.
Massage can be carried out not only in a casted limb, but also with any type of traction, affecting the soft tissue around the injured area of the bone. When applying plaster to the damaged area of the limb, it is recommended to use vibration massage, which is carried out in the corresponding reflexogenic zone.
Due to the fact that the fracture area is covered with plaster or various types of traction, massage is carried out outside the bandage, and it is very important to massage not only the damaged but also the healthy limb. For example, if an arm is broken, it is necessary to massage both the area around the cast and the shoulder, neck and upper chest.
It is in these places that nerve endings approach the upper extremities from the spinal cord; for the same reason, if a leg is broken, it is necessary to massage the lower part of the body (lumbar region, sacrum and always the lower part of the chest).
In case of hand injuries, physical impact is carried out as follows:
All these techniques are carried out using one hand, and the fingertips should be on different sides of the spine. If the patient's condition is satisfactory, then to the general techniques of rubbing and stroking, you can add pincer-like movements, vibration and slight tapping with the back of the hand.
At the end of the session, it is necessary to calm the worked area with stroking. Massaging a healthy hand can be absolutely anything, but at the same time comply with the rules of hygienic massage.
On the injured arm, the features of the massage directly depend on the location of the fracture:
The massage technique after a leg fracture also depends on the location of the lesion.
When acting on an injured limb, the specialist determines the necessary order and intensity of manipulation, relying on the area of the limb where the injury occurred. This is a necessary measure, since for different types of fractures, massage is carried out in different sequences in different areas.
For example, in case of a fracture of the tarsus, fingers and the metatarsus itself, it is initially necessary to massage the thigh, then the muscles around the lower leg and knee, while massage techniques in the thigh area should be gentle in the form of stroking, kneading and shaking.
After a fracture of one or both bones of the ankle, massage manipulations must begin with the thigh, then move to the plaster-free area of the leg, and only then complete the procedure with a foot massage.
With this type of fracture, the foot needs to be kneaded and rubbed with the thumbs of both hands. In cases where the fracture is localized in the upper or middle part of the leg, it is allowed to carry out gentle manipulations on the ankle joint in the form of gentle rotations of the foot.
This type of fracture is considered one of the most serious. With such an injury, the main part of the manipulation is focused on massaging the back and pelvic region. After working out the back and pelvis, it is necessary to stretch the muscles of the lower thigh, lower leg and foot, while this effect should occur under the most gentle conditions.
The massage procedure for a hip fracture lasts on average 25-30 minutes. When the fracture has already begun to heal, and x-rays show the formation of a dense bone callus at the site of injury, more active types of massage can be used.
Approximately 3 weeks after the fracture, when the cast has not yet been removed, vibration is allowed to improve blood flow and accelerate bone healing. To do this, small holes are made in the plaster, which cannot in any way harm the integrity of the plaster structure or worsen the patient’s condition.
When the plaster cast can be removed, massage can be carried out using the same method as when wearing the plaster, but this time the damaged area also needs to be worked on. To do this, medium or low intensity techniques are used, mainly focusing on stroking and rubbing. After removing the plaster, it is superficial rubbing and stroking that will promote the drainage of lymph and blood to effectively combat the formation of edema.
Due to the application of plaster, trophic disorders of the skin may be observed in the area of injury. In this case, during massage it is necessary to use additional products in the form of oils and creams that have regenerating properties.
The video shows a massage technique after an ankle fracture:
If a leg is broken, the massage effect must begin from the back, then move on to working on the healthy limb and only then working on the sick one.
In the lower part of the back, it is necessary to perform stroking and some types of squeezes, while working on the area being worked must be done exclusively from the bottom up, that is, from the lower back to the thoracic spine. After these manipulations, it is necessary to stretch the area around the spine, performing upward movements to the corners of the shoulder blades.
Also, in some cases, a forceps-like kneading of the back is used, initially carried out on the area located on the opposite side of the injured leg and repeated in the same sequence on the side of the broken leg.
Rubbing and stroking movements are performed in the lumbar region. The same manipulations are carried out on the buttocks, after which they begin the classic massage effect on the healthy leg, while observing the general principles of massage.
With a compression fracture of the spine, choosing the right massage technique plays a very important role. The method of exposure is determined by a specialist, based on the number of damaged vertebrae and the severity of the fracture. Any rubbing effects should in no case be accompanied by painful sensations in the patient.
Manipulations for this type of fracture begin from the top and move downwards. Initially, the massage procedure must be started from the chest, using stroking, kneading and squeezing, then the intercostal areas are kneaded with straight and spiral movements.
Manipulations on the abdomen help normalize intestinal activity and strengthen muscles. On the area of the thighs and lower legs (with the hip and knee joints bent), massage should be carried out in the form of stroking and gentle squeezing.
The final stage of the procedure is the impact on the hands and forearm in the form of the same techniques as when massaging the thighs and lower legs.
Daily massage after any type of fracture promotes rapid healing of damaged bones, minimizing pain and reducing the likelihood of swelling. It is very important not to miss a single day from the prescribed course, since massage effects will help to quickly restore the functionality of the injured limb.