What is Blunt Force Trauma ?
Trauma, or severe injury, is the main cause of severe health problems and deaths in individuals under the age of 35. It’s also the sixth leading cause of death around the world. Most major injuries come from blunt trauma, which could be due to car accidents or injuries to pedestrians. Falls are another important cause, especially among older people. Other frequent sources of trauma include direct strikes, attacks, and sports injuries.
Sometimes, injuries are not accidental and this should be considered based on how the injury looks and how it occurred. When blunt force strikes the body, it can result in various types of injuries. How severe these injuries are can depend on both how the injury happened and any existing health conditions the person has. Blunt impact injuries can generally be sorted into four categories: contusions (bruises), abrasions (scrapes), lacerations (cuts), and fractures (broken bones).
These types of injuries are often seen in autopsies, which are examinations of bodies to determine the cause of death. Accurately understanding and interpreting these injuries is crucial for providing accurate legal evidence in court cases.
What Causes Blunt Force Trauma ?
Blunt impact injuries occur when a blunt object hits the body directly. They can come in various forms.
A bruise, or contusion, happens when something hits you hard enough to break tiny blood vessels under the skin, but not hard enough to break the skin itself. On the other hand, a scrape, or abrasion, happens when something rubs off the top layer of your skin.
These sorts of injuries can leave specific marks, which could be matched to the object that caused the injury. For example, a bruise on the forehead with a unique zig-zag pattern might be linked to the bottom of a shoe found at a crime scene.
A cut, or laceration, happens when the impact is hard enough to rip the skin. This leaves strips of tissue under the skin connecting the two sides of the wound. Blunt impacts can also cause bruises and cuts on internal organs. And when the force is strong enough to break a bone, this is called a fracture.
Risk Factors and Frequency for Blunt Force Trauma
Blunt impact injuries are common in both living people and those who have passed away. The wounds can look different based on several factors: how hard the impact was, how fast it occurred, how long it lasted, the size of the area impacted, and how elastic the tissues were that got hit. For instance, if a heavy wall fell onto someone’s legs and trapped them for several minutes, this could cause a lot of tissue damage. On the other hand, if a baseball hit someone’s shoulder, this would probably cause less damage.
The most common causes of early death from blunt impact injuries are head trauma and severe blood loss.
Signs and Symptoms of Blunt Force Trauma
When people come into the hospital after experiencing strong, sudden physical force or impact, it’s important that medical professionals conduct a thorough examination to make sure no serious injuries have been overlooked. They will ask about the circumstances of the event, any pre-existing health conditions, allergies, current medications, and when the person last ate. They will also conduct primary, secondary, and tertiary surveys, stepping in with necessary treatments or resuscitation as needed.
Enemies that result from blunt force usually show up immediately after the event. However, deeper bruises might not become visible on the skin until several days have passed. To differentiate between skin discoloration caused by a bruise, where blood vessels have burst, and skin discoloration after death (known as lividity), where the blood is still contained within the vessels, doctors may need to examine the soft tissues just beneath the skin. To help understand the direction the force came from, doctors can look at characteristics of bone fractures, as well as injuries to nearby soft tissue or muscles. For instance, if a car hits someone’s leg, it often results in fragmented and crushed bone in the shinbone and/or calf bone. A pointed bone fragment frequently provides a clue to the direction the car was moving when the injury occurred.
Testing for Blunt Force Trauma
The American College of Surgeons has developed a course called Advanced Trauma Life Support. This course aims to teach a standardized and step-by-step approach to assessing trauma patients. It covers important topics such as preparation, patient assessment, immediate care, additional support to patient examination and resuscitation, deciding whether to transfer the patient, a more detailed examination after resuscitation, monitoring after resuscitation, and reviewing and definite care to the patient.
In terms of diagnosing different kinds of injuries caused by blunt force, these diagnoses are made by looking at wounds closely. Either through visual examination or by looking at them under a microscope. When an injury has just happened, you will typically see fresh bleeding under the microscope but no signs of healing or iron deposits from broken-down red blood cells. However, as the injury becomes older, one can see signs of healing taking place. Red and white blood cells start to break down; a type of cell that helps with healing (called a fibroblast) starts to multiply; and iron deposits can be found in the wound.
Treatment Options for Blunt Force Trauma
Specialized trauma centers have been shown to improve recovery rates for individuals who have suffered severe physical harm, such as from accidents or violent acts. Certain patients, including those with high Glasgow coma scale scores, extreme respiratory rates, or the need for assistance with breathing, should be sent to these centers. Patients with specific types of harm, such as multiple major bone fractures or serious head injuries, also benefit from treatment at trauma centers. The cause of the injury, such as major auto accidents or falls from high places, also determines the need for specialized care. Certain demographic groups, such as the elderly, pregnant women, patients on blood thinners, and young children, should also be managed in trauma centers. The decreasing death rates for severe injuries treated at trauma centers demonstrate the effectiveness of these centers in providing urgent care. It is important for trauma centers to follow research-based guidelines for rapid recovery and treatment, using a systematic approach. Some severe injuries may require only supportive care, while others may necessitate surgery or advanced radiology procedures to stop bleeding.
What else can Blunt Force Trauma be?
If you’re experiencing symptoms or certain conditions, it’s vital to consider various possibilities that could be causing them. Doctors would consider these possibilities when doing a diagnosis:
- Domestic violence-related injuries
- Bleeding in the brain, also known as hemorrhagic stroke
- A condition where you lose a lot of blood or fluids, leading to shock, known as hypovolemic shock
- Injuries to the lower parts of the urinary reproductive system
- Injuries to the abdomen caused by sharp or pointed objects penetrating the skin such as in accidents
- Complications arising from trauma during pregnancy
- Injuries to the upper parts of the urinary reproductive system
Considering these situations and conducting relevant tests would help draw a proper diagnosis and guide subsequent treatment.