Physiotherapeutic Rehabilitation of a Patient Following an Electrical Burn: A Case Report

Electrical burn is one of the common burn injuries occurring nowadays due to the increase in the use of technology; among others, electricians are more prone to electrical burn injury as they work all day to make and repair electrical equipment and systems. In this case report, we are presenting such a scenario. The patient, a 36-year-old male, was brought to casualty with an injury by a flash of electricity while working. The patient sustained a burn on the right hand and presented with burn injury over the right hand and forearm with bleb over the anterior aspect of the wrist joint, skin discolouration, local rise in temperature, line of demarcation seen over the palmar aspect of the forearm at middle 2/3^rd, clear serous discharge present from bleb, discolouration of tips of all fingers of the right hand and nail beds, and tenderness. The patient was diagnosed with an electrical burn injury after the evaluation and investigations. The investigations were done on complete blood count (CBC), coagulation profile, peripheral smear, liver function test (LFT), and random blood glucose (RBS). The injury site was cleaned and the dressing was done with one percent silver sulfadiazine, some medications were prescribed by the physician, and plaster was applied to prevent contractures. The physiotherapeutic intervention for the prevention of burn contracture includes positioning, splinting, massage, stretching, scar management, pressure therapy, and strengthening. This case report concludes that early physiotherapeutic interventions helped in the prevention of electrical burn contractures and the patient's functional mobility.