Splints

ThomD

Explorer
I picked up a new first aid kit (mostly because it was on sale, not because I needed another one). REI's Backbacker kit included a wire mesh splint. I had never seen one of these. The only FA splint I am familiar with is the SAM splint. The wire mesh one is compact and light, but I wondered how stiff it would really be.

This got me using El Goog to look at portable splints and I found air splints. I never thought about those as a FA item. Without any training in them, my first thought was, "How do you keep from making it too tight?"

Does anyone have any opinions on these splint options for the FA kit?
 

Captain K-man

Adventurer
Sounds like you have some sort of ladder splint, the earlier version of the SAM splint, they work good, you just need to pad it before using it. Use them the same way as a SAM splint, crease them to make it stiff.

As for the air splint, they're not used that much any more because they cut off circulation and thats bad m'kay. DO NOT USE Air splints!!!!!!!! On my ambulance we use Vac-u-splints, they look like air splints but, they are a totally different animal. With them they have foam beads in it and you pump the air out, that makes the beads get bigger making a "cast". As for me I've been a working EMT since 1990 and the splint thats my goto is the SAM splint.
 
Last edited:

Youngunner

Adventurer
I also like the SAM style splints. Unless it's a broken ankle , then nothing beats a pillow wrapped around it...seriously. I refuse to use the vacu-splints because they have a tendency to lose the vacuum.
 

tperkins

Observer
Ditto on the SAM splints; you can sometimes find them in 2 or 3 packs. I dont know what you usually pay for yours but I source mine at around $8 a peice, which I find very reasonable for what it is. I have 3 SAM's, one SAM Soft splint, and a half dozen SAM finger splints. Also, if your using it on a closed fracture, I see no reason why you cannot sanitize a SAM splint for personal use. I suppose the foam would hold bacteria fairly well, but I use SpectraSan to disinfect them anyways. Open fracture or body fluid contaimination is a no-go though.
 

plm61

New member
Splints And Such

SAM splints are wonderful multi-use tools. Members of the Wilderness Medical Society can get them for $5 each and they are wider than the standard one.

Leaks in vacuum splints are easily patched through the magic of duct tape.

For a femur fracture, nothing beats a traction splint. The Kendrick Traction Device (KTD, but marketed under a different name now) is small and light, but doesn't hold traction all that well for a long transport. The Hare is great, but sticks out the bottom of a Stokes litter. The Sager is is quite nice, fits easily in a litter, and comes in a bilateral model. Both Sagers and Hare are quite expensive.

Every member of my mountain SAR team carries a SAM. The team has a Sager for each vehicle.

Patrick
WEMT/PA-C
 

DeadMoney44

New member
For forearm or wrist on most anyone, or tib/fib on a child, you'd be surprised how well a magazine and a rectangular bandage works. The best mags have a glued binding vs. stapled. i.e. Cosmo works better than US Weekly.
 

HopLite

New member
I second the SAM splint + duct tape. Multiple uses. Very light. Compact. Radiolucent. Cheap (some have argued they are expensive for foam over aluminum, but they are dirt cheap for a medical device). Plus the company is friendly. Even Sam and his wife are incredibly nice.

I carry two 4"x36", EMT shears, and duct tape. You can cut them to size if they were originally too large (i.e. make a finger splint). Tape over the exposed (and potentially sharp) aluminum.

The vacuum splints are very secure. But I do not trust them to stay in my pack unused for months with 100% certainty they will not leak at the moment I need it.
 

AFBronco235

Crew Chief
I also go with SAM splints. The USAF (US Air Force) doesn't have medics like army does, so all arimen are trained in basic first aid and one of the tools we use is the SAM splint. They are fairly cheap for medical devices and with as little use as you'll have for them and how much you'll need it when you do need it, well worth the cost. They are a one use item, but well worth the price still to replace.

I got mine from a local military surplus store.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
185,530
Messages
2,875,568
Members
224,922
Latest member
Randy Towles
Top