I was reading a book about camping & hiking (yea I know how to read…) and it talked about an inflatable cast saying that you could walk with such a cast on because the cushion of air spread out the force all over the leg and made a good buffer between the ground and your foot.


But the book did not mention where to get these cast. I also did a search on the net and came up with nothing useful.


Do any of you have any experience with these cast (are they strong enough to walk on without developing a hole) and where can they be purchased?

I'm going to say a SAM Splint. NightHiker or paramedicpete may know.

Follow up question for NightHiker/Paramedicpete,

Only seeking an opinion :

When I get CPR qualified, what mask would be good to carry with me? Are they all pretty much the same? I saw one that contains an adult and child mask separately. Also, one that can be used for both adult and child.

I do not expect this information to be mistaken for medical advice or product endorsement.

i'd be leery of using an inflatable cast for any distance with a known leg fracture - unless it was a stable, lower leg fracture.

there are walking casts - remember tom brady pre-super bowl - but they are too bulky for edc. the inflatables are heavy plastic - think waterbed-type plastic. would wear out quickly.

depends too on how far you are going to walk. if it were a great distance i think the pain would stop you.

and the potential for further, permanent injury to the surrounding structures is too great.

IMHO i'd stabilize the suspected - hopefully not a compound (bone thru skin) fracture - and fashion a one-sided crutch, keeping the injured leg bent back at the knee and out of the way. make better time to the e.r.

If it were a true emergency and you had no other way out and you happened to be carrying a full leg air splint, then you might be able to wrap the foot in something that would keep it from shredding and walk on it if the injury wasn't too bad. Obviously, I don't think anyone would recommend it. You'd be far better off making yourself an impromptu crutch or crutches.

As for the mask, one of the more experienced folks will chime in, I'm sure. But for a First Responder you would probably carry either a collapsible mask or a folding plastic sheet with a barrier. The folding plastic ones are very compact and when stored correctly they seem durable. Don't get the cheap ones as the filter will separate from the plastic protector. Even so, I don't think they offer the protection or the utility of a collapsible face mask. That's protection for YOU, not for the victim. Most adult sized masks aren't going to work for very young children or infants. I'm just a first responder, so these things generally stay in your bag at my level. Paramedic Pete probably carries both sizes on his belt in a sturdy container.

I still have the inflatable leg cast from my days as a Ragin' SAR Animal, and it got a lot of use. They were easy to apply and usually did a minimal amount of damage to a closed fracture - I wouldn't have even considered using them on something like an open, angulated fracture. In our situations, they had one important drawback. Our victims were usually treated in the mountains and heloed down to the hospital. This meant constant and speedy adjustment to the pneumatic splint. Same problem with ground transport, although you had a little more time...

A few years ago, I had an opportunity to apply this very same air splint to my clobbered ankle, the result of an unfortunate lead fall in Joshua Tree. With the aid of the rest of the group, I was able to get myself to the ER. I never walked on the thing and I wouldn't even think of recommending such a procedure, even in my wildest dreams. IMO, your source is completely stark bonkers. I can't wait to hear what the real medical pros on this forum have to say about this.....

Oh, yes, one thing more. I don't believe air splints are recommended in current protocols. My experience and their use dates back to the 70s, which is probably why you can't easily find a source for them.

There are several kind of air-splints. There's the "air-cast" that most ER's use when you have an ankle sprain. Basically, 2 pieces of plastic connected by a piece of hard cloth under your heel. There's the real "air" splint, basically a piece of plastic with numerous tubes that roll around an extremity and immobilize it - http://galls.com/style.html?assort=general_catalog&style=SI725
Then there's the vacuum splint, kind of plastic filled with beads. You wrap the fracture, pull the air out, and it hardens, due to the beads being forced together- http://galls.com/style.html?assort=general_catalog&style=SI747 This seems to me most stable, and theoretically you could move the entire limb as a unit. I don't think it's strong enough to weight bear on, but as fractures go, it might be most comfortable and stable. Then again, good old cardboard and some towels can be pretty stable too if done properly.

MoBob, I don't really think there's much difference in CPR masks, except: pocket size, or keychain size. Keychain is essentially a piece of plastic with a small valve in it (of various designs). I guess this would be a "one size fits all" more than the other. The pocket size is kind of like the size of an Ambu-bag mask, but folds. You can technically use this kind on a child by flipping it backwards, so that the nose portion is over the chin, and the large part over the nose. You still get some air leakage around the chin, but you're not going to gouge the eyes out with the nose piece being too high up.

As for which is "safer," I have no idea. I carry both, never used either (on or off the job)

I've used the old air splints (long time ago) on other folks. SAM splint beats the snot out of those for just about anything. I also walked 3 days in a wilderness on a greenstick fracture of my lower leg, including fording a nasty river and I do NOT recommend the experience, but I think a sprain is even worse.

Compound fracture... send for help.

Tom

When I became an EMT, in 'bout '77 or so, my issue kit had about four diffenent air splints in them. I only used one once, on a closed fx, seemed to work OK. But there was no walking involved, just a wait for the ambulance. Then a few years later the department took them all away. No reason, they just went. Haven't seen once since.

I have done CPR more times than I care to remember, all with a pocket mask with oneway valve. Worked fine. But all victims did not make it. Not really my fault, all had major closed head injuries, thanks to not wearing a seat belt and being thrown from an overturning vehicle...