Fracture bracing the humerus

The use of humeral fracture braces has become our preferred method of treatment for fractures of the shaft of the humerus. These braces are easy to apply and adjust; the patient's acceptance of this method of treatment is high. We compared this method of treatment with the traditional method of plaster U-slab immobilization. A group of patients treated with a plaster U-slab were matched for type and level of fracture with a group treated with a humeral fracture brace and compared with regard to fracture healing and functional outcome. There was no difference between groups for healing time and final alignment of the fracture. However, there was a greater range of elbow motion at the time of union in the fracture brace group (11 degrees-126 degrees) compared with the U-slab group (50 degrees-119 degrees P less than 0.05). These results confirmed that humeral fracture bracing permits greater functional use of the limb without affecting fracture healing and alignment.