Buck’s traction is a common orthopedic technique used to manage certain injuries. This non-invasive method involves applying a steady pulling force to an injured area to help stabilize it. It serves as a temporary measure before further treatment or to alleviate symptoms.
What Buck’s Traction Is
Buck’s traction is a form of skin traction, which means the pulling force is applied to the skin and soft tissues surrounding an injured limb rather than directly to the bone. This technique typically involves adhesive straps or a boot-like device placed on the affected leg. Ropes are then attached to this device, running through a pulley system, and connected to weights that hang freely.
Why It Is Used
Buck’s traction is applied for several medical purposes. It helps to reduce muscle spasms. The traction also serves to immobilize a fractured bone or dislocated joint, maintaining its alignment before surgery. Common conditions where it is utilized include fractures of the femur (thigh bone), tibia, or fibula, as well as hip dislocations.
How Buck’s Traction Works
An adhesive strap or a foam boot is secured around the injured limb, typically the lower leg, with the heel seated firmly in the back of the boot. A spreader bar, often six inches wide, is incorporated at the end of the boot to prevent the straps from compressing the foot.
A rope attaches to this bar, extends down the bed, and passes over a pulley that is mounted to a traction frame or the foot of the bed. Weights, usually ranging from five to fifteen pounds depending on the patient’s size and injury, are then attached to the end of the rope, hanging freely to ensure consistent tension.
This longitudinal pull transmitted through the skin and soft tissues to the underlying bone helps to overcome muscle contraction and realign bone fragments. The continuous tension reduces muscle spasms and helps to restore the injured limb’s proper length and alignment, stabilizing it until further treatment is possible. The bed’s foot may be elevated to provide counter-traction, preventing the patient from sliding down due to the weight’s pull.
Living with Buck’s Traction
Patients undergoing Buck’s traction experience limitations in their mobility due to the continuous pull and the bed-bound nature of the treatment. Maintaining proper body alignment is important, and patients may be encouraged to use an overhead trapeze to assist with small movements without disrupting the traction.
Regular assessment of the skin under the straps or boot is performed to monitor for pressure points, skin irritation, or breakdown, as these are potential complications. Medical staff also conduct neurovascular checks to ensure proper circulation and nerve function in the affected limb.
Pain management is an aspect of care, as the traction works to alleviate discomfort from muscle spasms. It is important that the weights remain free-hanging and do not rest on the floor or touch the bed, as this would disrupt the continuous pulling force. The nursing staff provides ongoing monitoring and care, ensuring the traction setup remains functional and the patient’s comfort and skin integrity are maintained throughout the period of traction.