One of the most common injuries you can treat at home is a leg injury. With a little ingenuity, you can create a simple brace to restrain your patient's leg until you make it to a licensed medical professional. If you create the leg brace improperly, however, you can do more harm than good. If the brace does not hold the leg steady, it can leave the leg open to more injuries. If the brace is too tight, it can cut off vital blood flow to the leg, which creates a completely new problem for your patient.
Instructions
1. Measure the circumference of the patient's leg in five places. Measure the width at the ankle, the largest part of the calf, the knee, mid thigh and the high section of the thigh.
2. Cut a piece of leather for each section of the leg you measured. The leather strips should be an inch wide and two inches longer than each measurement.
3. Cut a rectangle of leather four inches wider than the width of the upper thigh that tapers down to four inches wider than the ankle. This strip of leather must be the length of the patient's leg from the top of the thigh down to the ankle.
4. Wrap the leather rectangle around the patient's leg. Mark the location of the knee and remove the leather from their leg. Cut out a circle at the knee so that the kneecap can poke through the leather, allowing the patient to bend his knee if necessary.
5. Lay the leather rectangle so that the inside faces towards you. Glue the stiff side of hook-and-loop tape to one side of the leather. The strips of tape should sit near the edge of the fabric.
6. Flip the leather over and attach the flexible side of the hook-and-loop tape to the opposite side of leather (for example, if your stiff hook and loop tape is on the left side of the leather, attach the soft tape to the right side of the leather on the opposite side).
7. Attach a small section of firm hook-and-loop tape to the left edge of the leather strips. Flip the leather strip over and attach the flexible side of the hook-and-loop tape to the right side of the fabric.
8. Draw five light lines across the outside of the leather rectangle. Space them so that they line up with the locations where you did your initial measurements (the ankle, the widest part of the calf, the knee, the mid-thigh and the upper-thigh). Coat the lines with glue and attach the strips of leather.
9. Wrap the leather rectangle around your patient's leg once the glue dries on the leather strips (the opening of the leather rectangle should face the outside of the leg). Tuck the side of the leather with the hook-and-loop tape facing upward under the other side of the leather, allowing the hook-and-loop tape to meet and bond, creating a loop around the patient's leg. The leather should fit firmly on the leg, but not so tight as to cut off the circulation to the leg.
10. Pull the straps together and connect the hook-and-loop tape on the ends. Have your patient stand to ensure the brace fits well.
Tags: hook-and-loop tape, side leather, leather rectangle, leather strips, your patient, side hook-and-loop, side hook-and-loop tape