Effect of traditional bracing vs. modern techniques on healing time in pediatric forearm fractures

Background. Musculoskeletal injuries are quite common among children, with forearm fractures ­being the most common type, which accounts for approximately 40 % of all long bone fractures in the pediatric population. Meanwhile, the use of modern techniques, including functional bracing, elastic intramedullary nails, or other methods has become available in the management of these fractures. These treatments are intended to decrease and minimize immobilization time, encourage early mobilization, and ultimately, accelerate recovery. The purpose: to examine the eficacy of conventional bracing compared to modern methods in terms of hea­ling time, functional recovery and pain management in pediatric patients with forearm fractures. Materials and methods. A prospective, comparative study was performed on 40 pediatric patients aged 4 to 14 years at a single medical center. They were then divided into two groups and stratified as such; they were randomly assigned to the group of traditional bracing (n = 20), who wear cast in plaster, or fiberglass casts, or traditional intramedullary nails, and the modern techniques group (n = 20), where the functional braces or the elastic intramedullary nailing were used. Healing time (in weeks), grip strength (in kilograms), range motion of joints (in degrees), pain score (in 0–10 scale), ability to perform daily activities (scored as a percentage of normal activities) were the main outcome measures. Results. The patients in the modern techniques group had significantly shorter mean healing time than those in the traditional bracing group: 4.73 vs. 5.93 weeks (p < 0.001). In addition, grip strength and range of motion were significantly greater in the modern techniques group: 7.51 vs. 5.07 kg (p = 0.003) and 135.05 vs. 118.20 degrees, respectively (p < 0.001). The results of this study imply that modern techniques speed healing and even have a beneficial effect on functional recovery, in the sense of strength and mobility. In terms of pain, the modern techniques group scored significantly less pain (2.15 vs. 3.30, p < 0.001). We also found that patients in the modern techniques group had a better ability to perform daily activities (86.85 vs. 67.10 %; p < 0.001). The results of the regression analysis confirmed the significance of fixation type as a predictor of all outcomes, including healing time, grip strength, and range of motion, all favoring the modern techniques group (p < 0.001 for all indicators). Conclusions. The results of this study show primarily that nowadays techniques like functional bracing and elastic intramedullary nailing have several advantages over classical bracing in mana­ging pediatric forearm fractures. As a result, modern methods lead to faster healing times, improved functional recovery, reduced pain, and an earlier return to normal activities. These findings support the use of modern techniques in clinical practice, especially for pediatric patients, to improve the quality of life and recovery outcome.