Blunt force trauma refers to the possibility of significant injuries caused by blunt forces, whether they are sharp or not. One of the most common types of blunt trauma is blunt abdominal trauma (BAT), which makes up 75 per cent of all blunt trauma injuries. Speed, velocity, size, and weight of an object play a large role in determining the severity of blunt trauma injuries. Damage can range from tiny bruises to compressions and, in the worst-case scenario, ruptured organs, rapid internal bleeding, and even death.
There are two major areas where blunt impact trauma hits the deadliest: the abdominal region and the head. When vital organs within the abdomen are damaged, two primary physical mechanisms are compression and deceleration.
Objects such as a seat belt or steering column that do not yield to pressure can cause compression, similar to a direct blow from a punch. As a result, a hollow organ will be deformed, its intraluminal or internal pressure will increase, and it may rupture. There is stretching and shearing during deceleration, where mobile contents like the bowel are anchored in the abdomen. It can also result in damage to the blood vessels that cross the mesentery of the bowel. Usually, ‘internal injuries’ are caused when blunt abdominal trauma is complicated by a spleen or liver injury, followed by a small intestine injury. Death is another possibility.
When it comes to head injuries, the brain can be damaged by trauma. If a hard object strikes the head, it can bruise the cerebral cortex. Think about a whiplash-like circumstance that occurs because of the force of the blow. In such instances, the hit can damage nerve cells (axonal injury) deep within the brain’s white matter. Direct object-to-head contact can cause this kind of injury. When an object strikes the head directly, the head suffers the most severe damage. An injury of this kind could cause a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Injuries of this kind can result in lifelong health problems and even death.
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