A buckle fracture happens when a bone bends and slightly buckles instead of breaking all the way through. The forearm has two bones — the radius and the ulna — that run from the elbow to the wrist. Your child has a buckle fracture in both of these bones.

The healthcare provider put a splint on your child’s arm to hold it still while it heals. Most children heal well from buckle fractures within a few weeks.

General Care

• Follow any special instructions from your healthcare provider about wearing the splint and following up with an orthopedic specialist (bone doctor).
• Have your child avoid gym class, sports, and playground equipment until your healthcare provider says it's OK.

For pain and swelling:

• Prop up the arm on pillows when your child is sitting down or sleeping.
• Remind your child to wiggle the fingers and the thumb to keep blood circulating normally.
• When your child is awake, put ice in a plastic bag wrapped in a towel on the lower arm for 20 minutes every three hours for up to two days. Don't put ice directly on the skin.
• If your healthcare provider said it’s OK, you can give medicine such as acetaminophen (Tylenol® or a store brand) or ibuprofen (Advil®, Motrin®, or a store brand). Follow the package directions for how much to give and how often.

Daily care for the splint:

• If your healthcare provider said it's OK, you can remove the splint for bathing and sleeping.
• Check the area around the splint. Make sure the skin isn't scratched, and the thumb and fingers aren't pale, blue, numb, or tingling.
• Make sure your child doesn't pick at or scratch under the splint.
• Don't put anything in the splint. Make sure your child doesn't put toys, food, or anything else into it.
• Keep dirt, sand, lotion, and powder away from the splint.
• If the splint gets splashed, blow air into it from a hair dryer on the cool setting.

• Blisters, rashes, or raw spots appear on the skin around the splint.
• Your child's pain isn't helped by pain medicine.
• The arm or fingers become very swollen.
• The splint is too loose or too tight.
• The splint gets wet, is damaged, or has a foul odor.

Your child's hand becomes pale, blue, numb, tingly, or cold.

What are the radius and ulna bones? They are the bones in the lower arm. The ulna is on the little finger (pinkie) side. The radius is on the thumb side.

What's a buckle fracture? A buckle fracture happens when a fall or other arm injury makes one side of a bone press together, making a bulge on the edge of the bone.

Why do kids get buckle fractures? Kids' bones are still growing and not as hard as adults' bones. If they hold out their arms to stop a fall, the pressure on the bone makes the outside layer of bone bulge out.

What's the difference between a splint and a cast? Both support and protect injured bones while they heal. In a cast, the hard part goes all the way around the arm. But in a splint, the hard part only goes partway around the arm. This allows space for swelling. The splint is held in place with an elastic bandage or Velcro® straps.