They tend to complicate fracture management because they interfere with splinting, casting, and incision planning for open reduction procedures.

It was found that a strain of 152% generated enough force to shear the skin layers and cause the formation of a hemorrhagic blister.

[3] Risk factors that predispose a patient to formation of a blister include but are not limited to: anatomical sites with thin and tightly adhered overlying skin, peripheral vascular disease, collagen vascular disease, hypertension, smoking, alcoholism, diabetes mellitus, lymphatic obstruction, high energy injuries, and grade I and II open tibia fractures.

However, if that cannot be done, decision to pop the blisters in order to treat the fracture or wait for them to heal first usually hinges on the preferences of the orthopaedic surgeon as there is a lack of data on what treatment is ideal.

[3] Waiting delays care an average of 7 days, and longer for tibial plateau and calcaneal fractures.