Buck's traction is commonly described as a form of skin traction. Which statement accurately describes it?

Buck's traction is commonly described as a form of skin traction. Which statement accurately describes it?

• A. It uses skin traction and tape with weights to pull the leg
• B. It uses pins into bone for traction
• C. It tightens the hip with a brace
• D. It requires surgical incision

Answer: (A)

Buck's traction is a skin traction method that applies continuous longitudinal force to the leg by wrapping a padded band or boot around the limb and attaching weights via a pulley. Because the traction is applied to the skin and soft tissues, no pins or wires are inserted into bone and there is no surgical incision. It serves as a temporary measure to reduce muscle spasm and align a hip or femur fracture in preparation for definitive treatment. The statement describing it as skin traction using tape or a boot with weights pulling the leg captures this mechanism. It is not skeletal traction, so there are no pins into bone; it doesn’t involve tightening the hip with a brace, and it doesn’t require surgery.

Buck's traction is a skin traction method that applies continuous longitudinal force to the leg by wrapping a padded band or boot around the limb and attaching weights via a pulley. Because the traction is applied to the skin and soft tissues, no pins or wires are inserted into bone and there is no surgical incision. It serves as a temporary measure to reduce muscle spasm and align a hip or femur fracture in preparation for definitive treatment. The statement describing it as skin traction using tape or a boot with weights pulling the leg captures this mechanism. It is not skeletal traction, so there are no pins into bone; it doesn’t involve tightening the hip with a brace, and it doesn’t require surgery.