Prolonged skin-to-skin contact should be avoided while a sling is in use.

clove-hitch s.A sling made by placing a clove hitch in the center of a roller band age, fitting it to the hand , and carrying the ends over the shoulder. The sling is tied beside the neck with a square knot, making longer ends. These ends may be carried over and behind the shoulders, brought under each axilla, and tied over the chest.

counterbalanced s.A rehabilitation sling to assist upper extremity motion by suspending the arm by way of an overhead frame and a pulley and weight system. SYN: suspension sling.

cravat band age s.A sling for supporting the hand or a fractured upper arm. The wrist is laid upon the center of the cravat band age, the forearm held at a right angle or with the hand elevated above the heart, and the two ends are carried around the neck and tied.

SEE: binder.

cravat s.A sling made by placing the center of the cravat under the wrist or forearm with the ends tied around the neck.

folded cravat s.A lower-arm sling made by placing a broad fold of cloth in position on the chest with one end over the affected shoulder and the other hanging down in front of the chest. The arm is flexed as desired across the sling. The lower end is brought up over the uninjured shoulder and secured with a knot located where it will not press on the affected shoulder.

infant s.Infant carrier.

open s.A sling made by placing the point of a triangular cloth at the tip of the elbow. The ends are brought around at the back of the neck and tied. The point should be brought forward and pinned or tied in a single knot, forming a cup to prevent the elbow from slipping out.

reversed triangular s.A sling made as follows: a triangular band age is applied with one end over the injured shoulder, point toward the sound side, the base vertical under the injured elbow. The arm is flexed acutely over the triangle. The lower end is brought upward over the front of the arm and over the sound shoulder. The ends are pulled taut and tied over the sound shoulder. The point is pulled taut over the forearm and fixed to the anterior and posterior layers between the forearm and arm. This sling holds the elbow more acutely flexed (the weight is supported by the elbow).

simple figure-of-eight roller arm s.A sling made as follows: the arm is flexed on the chest in the desired position, then a band age is fixed with a single turn toward the uninjured side around the arm and chest, crossing the elbow just above the external epicondyle of the humerus. A second turn is made, overlapping two thirds of the first, and the band age is brought forward under the tip of the elbow, then upward along the flexed forearm to the root of the neck of the sound side. Then it is brought downward over the scapula, crossing the chest and arm horizontally, overlapping, turning above, and continued as in a progressive figure-of-eight.

St. John's s.A sling made by applying a triangular band age with the point downward under the elbow, the upper end over the sound shoulder. The arm is flexed acutely on the chest. The lower end is brought under the affected arm and around the back to knot with the upper end on the sound shoulder. The point is brought up over the elbow and fastened to the base. Support is wholly for the injured shoulder.

suspension s.Counterbalanced sling.

swathe arm s.A sling for support of the arm that is made as follows: the center of a folded cloth band is placed under the acutely flexed elbow. One end of the sling is then carried to the front and upward across the forearm and over the affected shoulder. Then it is brought obliquely across the back to the sound axilla. Next, the other end of the sling is brought around the front of the arm and across the body to the sound axilla, where it is pinned to the first end of the sling and then continued around the back to the part of the sling surrounding the affected elbow, where it is pinned again.

tension-free transvaginal tape s.Transvaginal tape sling.

transvaginal tape s.

ABBR: TVT sling

triangular s.A sling for the arm that is made with suspension from the uninjured side. The triangle is placed on the chest with one end over the sound shoulder, the point under the affected extremity, and the base folded. The injured arm is flexed outside of the triangle. The lower end is carried upward under the axilla of the injured side, back of the shoulder, and tied with the upper end behind the back. The point of the triangle is brought anteriorly and medially around the back of the elbow and fastened to the body of the band age. This band age changes the point of carrying and also relieves the clavicle on the injured side of the load.

SEE: triangular band age for illus.