Crush injuries are one of many risks that workers in a variety of fields face. After all, the only thing you need is a heavy object and the possibility for an accident to occur.
But what exactly are crush injuries? How do they impact the body? And what should you know about them in general?
What is a crush injury?
Medline Plus discusses the impact crush injuries have on your health. The first thing to understand is that “crush injury” is an umbrella term. Like “traumatic brain injury” or “laceration injury”, it encompasses a wide range of potential scenarios. The only unifying factor is that all crush injuries involve part of the body getting crushed by something heavier.
This can happen to any part of the body, and the item can be anything from work equipment to vehicles and more. Needless to say, this creates a variety of injuries and many different injury severities.
How does it impact you?
For example, you can end up with your torso crushed if a vehicle pins you. This can create organ damage from the stress of interrupted circulation and may even result in a heart attack or stroke. On the other hand, crush injuries to the hands and feet are very common. While there is less chance of whole body damage, you may still go into shock or experience gangrene or sepsis.
Serious or even deadly damage from crush injuries can set in quickly no matter what the case is, though. This is due to the shock of trauma your body goes through and how it attempts to cope. Thus, any victim of a crush injury of all descriptions should seek immediate medical attention.
