LogFAQs > #967489670

Redfeather posted...

Don't you need a cast for it to heal. I don't know.

Depending on the nature of the break, immobilizing it may do more harm than good. I broke my elbow a couple months back (non-displaced radial head fracture), and I just had to wear a sling for a couple weeks and take it easy from there (plus physio). There was a time when that would have needed a full-arm cast that held it at 90 degrees and kept my wrist from turning, but immobilizing the joint like that can cause it to seize up and become too stiff to move, which hurts recovery. So long as the bones aren't in immediate danger of shifting and undoing whatever healing has happened (whether because it's a stable non-displaced fracture or because it's been fixed surgically), you really just need to support it well enough to protect it from forces that might re-break it.

Now, he definitely shouldn't be weight-bearing right now and I'm appalled that the hospital didn't give him crutches or direct him to get some.