Crush injuries are a serious sort of traumatic bodily injury that does not get talked about often due to their extreme and gory nature.
However, it is important to understand crush injuries, along with how to identify them and treat them.
What affects crush injuries
Up To Date discusses crush injuries to different severities. Generally speaking, crush injuries happen when part of the body ends up pinned between two heavy or unmoving objects. Examples include a person getting pinned to the road beneath a car, or having their foot run over by a heavy truck.
The duration of the crush injury can persist for hours, or it may only last a few seconds. The damage can also vary based on numerous factors, such as the duration of injury, the weight of the object crushing the body part, the body part in question and more.
The categories of crush injuries
Crush injuries often end up divided into two categories. Crush injuries of the trunk or torso, and crush injuries of the limbs or extremities. Each has its own set of unique potential complications.
For example, with crush injuries to extremities, gangrene and necrosis pose a major threat. Because blood cannot circulate to the extremity, the tissue there can die, resulting in the potential need for amputations.
As for injuries to the trunk, the biggest risks tend to involve organ failure. With certain organs pressed and squeezed until they cannot work properly, other organs have to work even harder and could end up giving out.
These serious complications are why crush injuries should always get treated as soon as possible to mitigate long-term damages.