Tag Archives: broken bone

how-to-stay-cool-during-the-summer-on-crutches

How to Stay Cool During the Summer on Crutches

The summer heat can make anyone miserable, but if you have to spend it on crutches, you are worse off than ever before. Having your injured foot or ankle in a walking boot or cast will only make that area sweat even more. Not to mention itch! There are ways you can stay cool during the summer months, even if you have a non-weight bearing injury. Here are some ideas to help you out.

Utilize the CastCooler for Comfort and Relief
girlwcast_261One of the best things you can do for yourself, while in a cast, is invest in a CastCooler. The CastCooler is a great device you simply wrap around your cast, attach to a standard vacuum cleaner hose, turn the vacuum on, and voila, the air removes moisture from the lining under your cast. It will leave you with a cool, fresh feeling that will help you from getting itchy in places you can’t access and keep your cast dry. When your injured area feels cool and fresh, the rest of you will feel cool as well.

Get an Alternative to Crutches
Goodbye Crutches Knee ScooterCrutches take a lot of work and when you’re moving around in the summer heat, you’re going to get hot fast. With the Hands Free Crutch, you can walk much like normal and get around very quickly. The Knee Scooter is easy to use and when you scoot yourself fast enough, you can even make your own breeze. The Seated Scooter allows you to sit and move around so you can rest and keep the sweating to a minimum.

Stay Inside
When the weather predictors are telling you about heat warnings and the danger of a high heat index, you should stay inside and keep cool. Your health is a priority during the recovery process and if you have to spoil yourself a little by staying in the cool air conditioning, then do so.

Drink More Water
One of the ways to help yourself feel cooler on the outside is by keeping your insides hydrated. Drink cool water continuously while you are out in the heat. You will feel better and the water will help keep you cool. You can also put the cool bottle on the back of your neck, forehead, or wherever else is feeling hot to give you some temporary relief.

Submerge in Water with DryPro
DryPro customer

If you have a cast on your foot, you can’t just jump into a pool, unless you have the DryPro Waterproof Cast Protector.  But, that doesn’t mean you can’t at least put one foot in the water. Use your kid’s little blow up pool and sink one foot into the cool water while you watch them play. You might even ask the kids to squirt you with their squirt guns this year!

CastCoverz!

Group Photo with CCZ products and AdGIn order to feel a different kind of cool, take a look at the variety of CastCoverz! you can purchase to hide or jazz up your plain, boring cast, while keeping it clean and snag-free! CastCoverz! provides FUNctional and fashionable orthopedic accessories such as cast covers, walking boot covers, designer color crutches & crutch pads, in addition to comfort and care products. Take the attention off your injury and put it onto your fun and fashionable cast cover instead!

Staying cool during the hot summer months can be a challenge, especially with a non-weight bearing injury. But with a little planning and the above tips, you can ward off a little bit of the misery!

Pad Your Cast With THE CAST PROTECTOR

castprotector_02

Do you know someone who has a broken bone in their arm, hand, or wrist and is wearing a cast? Do they play sports and fear their season may be over? THE CAST PROTECTOR is the answer to their fears.

The Cast ProtectorOnce the pain from a broken bone subsides, if the sport in question allows it, and the doctor feels it is safe, THE CAST PROTECTOR helps pad the cast, allowing those wearing a cast to play, by providing a professionally made, easy to apply protector for the cast. Whether or not to play sports with a fracture is a decision that must be made carefully. A physician, parent, coach, and player should all participate in and understand the reasoning for the decision, as well as the risks involved. THE CAST PROTECTOR does not decrease the risk of re-injury, it primarily protects other players from contact with a stiff, rough cast. The CAST PROTECTOR is made in the USA and has been approved by the National Federation of State High School Associations.

The Balancing Act: How Seniors Can Prevent Injury

Guest post by Virginia Cunningham

Nobody wants to take a fall in winter, when there are much more important things to do than slow-motioning around the house and asking people to help you with the most trivial tasks. Still, we know that one out of three older adults falls each year and, to make matters worse, most fractures among people over 65 are caused by falls.

Still, while they do happen a lot, bone breaking and other falling-related injuries can be prevented– at least to a certain extent. Here are some things you can do to make sure you’re walking, not falling:

Dog Pose for Good Bones

Exercise might be a bit more challenging as we grow older, but it never stops being fun or good for us. There are so many ways to go: dancing, fitness, cardio, power training, swimming. What matters is that you get your doctor’s clearance first and that you’re doing something you actually enjoy.

Yoga pose

Yoga is our number-one suggestion because it is proven to improve balance and coordination, which are vital aspects of… not falling down and hurting yourself. The best way to get results is following a rigorous program which challenges you twice per week for at least eight weeks. This way, you’ll gradually lose the fear of falling, which is one of the biggest problems around the issue anyway. Just the fear itself can ruin your mood when you’re trying to get across a rather icy sidewalk, so getting that out of the way can do wonders for morale.

Get Your Eyes Checked

That’s right — your eyes might be getting between you and your intact, un-fractured bones. Many older adults simply get used to a blurred vision and forget to change their glasses when they’re supposed to. If you know that you haven’t checked your eyes in a long time, go ahead and make an appointment or just walk into the nearest eye clinic.

A good eyesight is not only good for telling the oregano jar from the parsley jar, it also helps with getting around and making sure you’re aware of your environment. It’s really a shame that people actually end up falling because they just can’t see clearly. This is preventable and it only takes updating your glasses once every six to 12 months.

Put Your Pills on the Spot

If you’re taking a lot of pills each day or even a few, but for quite some time, you might want to get them checked by your physician.

Pills

Often, medicine contains ingredients that can either cause drowsiness or dizziness, or even lower your bone density. Even over-the-counter tablets can have such unpleasant side-effects and it’s important to be aware of them so that you can minimize the risk of falling.
If you think you’re endangering yourself, try to find out if there are alternatives you could pursue. In many cases, there are.

Make Your Home Clutter-Free

Slippery rugs, rocklike statues, shoes lying around the house– all of these are your enemies and should be eliminated from sight. It just takes one walk in the dark to slip, trip and fall, so don’t take that chance.

Reorganizing your house might actually be fun. Put everything you use on a regular basis in its own place: keep the shoes away, keep your books and papers in boxes and on shelves, move metal objects away and get some non-slip mats for your bathroom. Installing grab bars next to the shower is also a good idea, as people slip in the bathtub all the time, no matter if they’re 15 or 80. Getting those sharp corners on your furniture covered is also smart if you want to avoid that dreaded pinkie destruction we all hate.

In the end, falling is unpleasant at any age. And if you can prevent it, why wouldn’t you? Minimize your risk by keeping your house clean and safe, getting some balance and flexibility training, making sure your vision is as good as it gets and checking your pills for side effects. Don’t forget to get enough Calcium (1000 mg/day for men and 1200 mg/day for women) as well as Vitamin D (600-800 mg/day) and you’ll be fine.

Today’s guest blogger is Virginia Cunningham, who is honored to have had the opportunity to share her knowledge about how seniors can easily prevent themselves from attaining injury. Her writing, in collaboration with NorthWest, covers all things health, including natural supplements, personal fitness and holistic medicine.

Are You a Member of the Broken Bones Club?

Broken Bone?  You’re an official member of the “Broken Bones Club”!  Tell the world you or a loved one survived a broken bone with CastCoverz!’s “Member of the Broken Bones Club” t-shirt or coffee mug.  And don’t forget to print your Broken Bones Club Certificate direct from our website www.castcoverz.com

BBC CertificateCastCoverz! provides functional and fashionable orthopedic soft-good products that comfort orthopedic patients.  From cast covers, arm slings, and walking boot covers, to designer color crutches, CrutchWear, waterproof products and so much more!