What type of splint can include vacuum splints pillows blankets cardboard splints SAM splints and wire ladder splints?

Answer 1

They are all classified as medical splints.

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Wood and cardboard splints are stiff and a fixed size to immobilize a suspected fracture. needs padding.

Wire ladder splints are welded wire and look like a ladder to provide stiffness but can be bent up and down (along there length) to help conform to shape of the injury. the splints are either stored flat or rolled. needs padding.

A SAM style splint is a padded aluminum. The splints are stored folded or rolled. They can bend up and down along there length like a wire splint but can also be to curve along there width making it easy to conform to the extramity and much more ridged. Since they are paddedmost of the time you don't need to add anything.

Pillows or inflatable splints. A solf pillow will conform well and with straping/binding stiffens up and makes a very good splint. An inflatable splint performs the same function but is made for each extremity (forearm, full arm, ankle, half leg, full leg) One drawback is that these have been know to leak so you may need to pump them up serveral times on the way to the hospital. One usually carries a kit with different sizes inside.

A vacuum splint is the most expensive of these mentioned but a very cool working device. It is a bag with many styroform beads. It is applied soft and loose and then a pump is used to remove all the air out of the chambers of the bag. The splint strinks and stiffens packing the beads tight. it comforms to most shapes easliy . They have are arm leg and even a full backboard unit that is stiff enought to lift the patient on to a traditional backboard. One usually carries a kit with different sizes of vacuum splint inside. But again its a pricey item and not practical inless in a vehicle but great for more complicated fracture or extrications.