[Functional treatment of fractures with the Neofract brace]

Conservative treatment of a fracture is governed by generally accepted principles, in the first place absolute rest in the fractured region by inactivating the injured limb and adjacent joints. Hence, delayed healing of a fracture and formation of pseudarthroses are attributed to shear forces, insufficient retention and generally to lack of rest in the fractured area. On the other hand, the nonsurgical functional fracture treatment developed by Sarmiento in Los Angeles, U.S.A., considers unrest in the fractured area as an essential stimulant to osteogenesis of the fractured limb. This led to a new type of fracture treatment which largely does away with placing the limb at rest; on the contrary, the injured extremity may be subjected to stress quite early in fact, permitting minor movements in the fractured area and even aiming at such movements. The authors treated 32 fractures of the lower leg in this manner. Compared with fracture treatment of the conventional kind, such as via Küntscher nailing, osseous consolidation - as measured by the time the patient was able to resume his work - occurred more rapidly. There was an absence of other features such as muscular atrophy and limitation of movement; if at all present, they were only slight.