For an elderly woman with a suspected hip fracture, what is the best method to stabilize her injury?

The best method to stabilize an injury for an elderly woman with a suspected hip fracture is to place her on a scoop stretcher and pad her hip with pillows. This approach provides several important benefits. First, using a scoop stretcher allows for easier and safer movement of the patient without excessive manipulation of the injured area, which is crucial as moving a fractured hip can cause further damage or pain.

Padding the hip with pillows helps to immobilize the injury and provides comfort, reducing movement and preventing additional trauma. This method is particularly suited to elderly patients, as it accommodates their need for careful handling. The scoop stretcher can also facilitate a smooth transfer to a transport device while maintaining stability and minimizing pain.

In contrast, other methods like binding legs together may restrict circulation and could exacerbate the injury, applying a long board splint would be more challenging without causing discomfort, and using a traction splint is typically meant for femur fractures rather than hip fractures and may not provide the required stabilization for this specific injury.