Originally Posted by Ian Kennard

Chutz, please send my best wishes to Tim too. It seems he can make a good recovery.............great news.

My immediate thoughts are with you though!! I cannot imagine how you must have felt when you came upon Tim lying in the road. His body reacted as it should - complete shut down. But I guess yours went into emotional overload............who took care of you?

Hope you are okay as well - look after you in all this.

Originally Posted by Flamin_Squirrel

So... if he broke the radius he broke his arm then?

Probably better than the wrist its self :?:

Originally Posted by Flamin_Squirrel

I understood that the radius went from the wrist to the elbow, so although it might end in the wrist area its not one of the bones that make up the wrist joint. Not being pedantic, just didnt understand what you were saying.

I was also concerned as I'd imagine that braking of the wrist bones would be more serious than a break of the radius.

Ah well, who cares, as long as a swift and full recovery is achived :!:

Originally Posted by chutz

Radius and Ulna are actually "the wrist" mate. I know it can also be called the forearm but people "slit their wrists" not their forearms if you get my meaning. I thought that "pedant" thread had finished ages ago. A broken hip tends to be top of the femur,not always the ball joint but it's still a broken hip.

Originally Posted by rictus01

If you were by yourself, and I was unconscious but breathing, I would hope you wouldn't try :!: you can still assess a patient and move them into a postion where they won't compromise their airway, with their helmet on, not the best thing to do but better than being paralised.

You need two hands to support the spine and stadilize the head and the helmet needs to be removed in a certain way by another two hands, so unless you have four hand :shock: then apart from saving my live because my airway was blocked, leave it alone.

I have been a patient in this postion before, as such you are unable to tell if you've got spinal injuries (most want to get up / or remove their own lid, not wise ( Si take note)) A car driver from a heavy impact iaccident (car rolled a couple of times) several years a go, on the Caterham bypass, got impatiant with us (ambulance crew) said he was fine, a bit bashed & bruised, and got up him self, walked about six feet and collapsed with full respitory arrest. so it can happen, I've see it.

It's not so much "alittle knowledge is potentially dangerous" as doing nothing can be more so, and if I was unconscious and not breathing, that means I'm dying, so the way my helmet is removed becomes less inportant, as dying could only be made worst by being dead, and not removing the helmet would prevent clearing the airway and effective CPR.

It's a case of the lesser of two evils, the patient has stopped breathing.
remove helmet by yourself = possible spinal injuies on a live patient.
Leave helmet on = compromised airway, ineffective CPR, dead bloke.

Cheers Mark.


Cheers Mark.

Originally Posted by Rob S (Yella)

Just read this, bad news. :(

I had the head of the Radius shattered and it is basiclly one half of the wrist. The other half being all the little bones in the hand. It can be a pig to get it mobile again but this obviously depends on the type of break. Mine was about as bad as it gets (without loosing the hand) with it smashed into small gravel like pieces but after a few pins and an external fixator I have a usable wrist that doesn't hinder me to much in day to day use. (but I can't use a motorbike throttle anymore)

So even if it's a fairly bad break he should get thru OK, the key is in the physio. The biggest bummer is you cant use crutches which is a problem when your leg/foot is injured as well.

Best wishes and lets hope for a speedy recovery.