What is the injury?

crush injury is caused by prolonged or strong compression of the body, such as the arm or leg, resulting in damage to muscle, nerves, blood vessels, bones and other tissues. While minor crush injuries, such as closing the door on the finger, can sometimes be treated at home, severe injuries are medical emergencies that require immediate attention to avoid complications and maintaining function in the affected part of the body. The most common scenarios for severe crush injuries are accidents such as car collisions and natural disasters such as earthquakes.

In the event of damage, the normal chemical balance of muscle cells is disrupted due to abnormal compression forces. Direct muscle damage damages structures in cell membranes that pump calcium and potassium into cells and sodium from cells. Increasing calcium levels inside muscle cells cause enzymes that are usually found to be destructive to the muscle. This destruction can lead to breakingor rupture of the membrane of muscle cells and lead to cellular death.

Muscle cell membrane rupture causes substances to flow out of the cell. These substances, which include potassium, calcium, creatinine and myoglobin, a protein that usually adds oxygen to muscle cells, can then enter the bloodstream. The release of these chemicals into the circulatory system of the body is known as rabdomyolysis . If it is not treated, rabdomyolysis can lead to kidney failure, shock and eventually death. It is said that a person with injury showing signs of damage to other body systems suffers from crush syndrome.

The prevention of crush syndrome is the primary goal of treating crush damage. Intravenous fluid containing sodium and mannitol bicarbonate is given to patients to prevent renal damage and stabilizacikrous pressure. Surgery may be required to repair nerve and bone damage. In order to prevent infoEcCI, patients can receive antibiotics and a shot of tetanus.

statistics on the occurrence of injuries come mainly from reports of medical staff who treated people injured in natural disasters such as earthquakes. Almost three -quarters of crush injuries affect the legs, with about 10% of the injury affecting the arms and less than 10% affecting the trunk. In the United States, information about the treatment of injuries and crushing components of the federal system of readiness and response is included.