Traction splint is indicated for which condition?

• A. Distal femur fracture
• B. Isolated mid-shaft femur fracture
• C. Tibia shaft fracture
• D. Fibular fracture

Answer: (B)

Traction splinting is used to immobilize a long-bone fracture by applying gentle, controlled traction along the limb to help align the fragments and reduce pain from muscle spasm during transport. It works best when the fracture is in the middle portion of the bone, where the distal fragment can be guided toward the proximal fragment without bending at the knee. That makes an isolated mid-shaft femur fracture the ideal situation for this device: you can apply traction to diminish movement, mitigate pain, and stabilize the limb for transfer.

In contrast, injuries near the knee (distal femur fractures) or fractures of the tibia or fibula don’t respond well to this approach. Traction at the ankle would not effectively realign a distal femur fracture and could worsen the injury or fail to immobilize the limb properly, so different immobilization methods are used for those injuries.