When involved in a crash, you may suffer from numerous types of injuries both internal and external. Some injuries get more press and media coverage than others, such as traumatic brain injuries or injuries to the spinal cord.
But there are some injuries that you do not see as much discussion about. Crush injuries often fall into this category, perhaps due to their often gruesome nature. But a crush injury is not uncommon, and it can do just as much damage as a brain or back injury.
Factors impacting the severity of a crush injury
Podiatry Today discusses crush injuries and their short and long-term impacts. In the short term, crush injuries can have an immediate impact on your health. Needless to say, many factors go into how a crush incident will affect your health. Some include:
- The weight and size of the crushing object
- How far and fast it fell before hitting the victim
- How long the victim stays trapped under the object
- What area of their body ends up crushed or pinned
- If they had any protective equipment
- The overall age, build, strength and health of the victim
Risks associated with gangrene and infection
But for all victims, the risk of necrosis and gangrene setting in fast is a big problem. This is due to the way the circulatory system works. If you cut off blood supply to an area long enough, the tissue will start to die and decay. Within hours of a crush injury, tissue can start to necrotize. This often leads to amputations of affected limbs, or long-lasting organ damage if the trunk got compressed.
Of course, these health issues might take months or years to recover from. Some last a lifetime, which can impact a victim’s ability to find work. This is why crush injuries devastate in both the short and long term.
