Thomas Splint Information

The first line management of paediatric femoral fractures is with balanced traction in a Thomas Splint. In the West of Scotland there are two types of splints. The adjustable Thomas Splint made by Ossur which is out of production and those made by Kinetec. Kinetec are currently (2026) the only manufacturers of Thomas splints in the UK. The original information produced by our unit was designed for the splints supplied by Ossur but have been amended for the Kinetec splint.

RESOURCES

The Paediatric Orthopaedic Team in Grampain have produced an instructional video on how to apply a Thomas splint and apply the traction. The video may be found here

STEP-BY-STEP GUIDES

How to apply a Thomas Splint & Balanced Traction for the adjustable OSSUR splint

How to apply balanced traction to a Thomas Splint (in units where the balanced traction is applied on the ward after splint application in ED)

How to apply a Thomas Splint & Balanced Traction for the Kinetec splint

MANUFACTURER INFORMATION

Ossur splint - manufacturer instructions

Kinetec splint - manufacturer instructions

Kinetec splint - manufacturer video

Kinetec splint - website