Seat belts save lives but may also cause serious shoulder injuries in car accidents.
Although wearing a seat belt can help save your life during a car accident, it can also cause considerable injuries to your shoulder or other parts of your body. Of course, seat belt injuries are preferable to being thrown out of your vehicle, but they can be quite painful nevertheless. Some injuries can limit people's ability to perform everyday tasks and work.
How Seat Belt Injuries Happen
During a sudden deceleration crash, seat belts can produce severe injury because of their lap-and-diagonal configuration. As explained by Dr. John R. Dehner on the American Journal of Roentgenology website, the impact of the crash causes seat belts to hit the shoulder, sternum, ribs and upper abdomen. The shoulder covered by the seat belt is also more susceptible to injury since it receives the most pressure during a car accident. While lap belts usually cause injuries to the abdomen, diagonal belts typically produce injuries in the shoulder and neck area. According to Dehner, the shoulder harness type of seat belt, commonly seen on children car seats, should replace the lap-and-diagonal belt design to improve automobile safety.
Impact
Because drivers generally hold on to the steering wheel when bracing for impact, the accident can cause many types of injury to the shoulder area such as tears to the joint and muscles, dislocated shoulders and even broken bones. People who suffer from shoulder injuries can't perform activities that require them to lift their arms above their shoulders, such as drying their hair and even dressing up.
Types of Shoulder Injury
As listed on PhysioRoom, there are three main types of seat-belt-related shoulder injuries. First, the acromioclavicular joint sprain, also referred to as "shoulder separation," involves the separation of the clavicle and shoulder blade. Shoulder bursitis is another type of shoulder injury more commonly called "swimmer's shoulder" or "thrower's shoulder" and is caused by the tendons of the rotator cuff being inflamed and irritated. Finally, during a car accident, excessive pressure of the seat belt on your shoulder can break your collar bone.
Symptoms
Symptoms of seat-belt-related shoulder injuries depend on the type of injury. For example, the acromioclavicular joint sprain typically causes widespread pain throughout the shoulder followed by pain at a specific site, swelling and a visible lump. Shoulder bursitis, on the other hand, includes pain at the front or side of the shoulder when trying to raise the arms above the shoulder, and pain at the back of the shoulder when lifting the arm to the side or outward. A broken collar bone usually causes extreme shoulder pain, visible deformity of the shoulder and bruising.
Treatment
As mentioned on the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, doctors usually begin their treatment by conducting an arthroscopy, a surgical procedure used to visualize, diagnose and treat problems inside a joint. Arthroscopic surgery involves the insertion of a small video camera allowing the surgeon to see the bones and ligaments of the injured shoulder. Arthroscopy helps orthopaedic surgeons to determine the type and amount of seat belt related injury and to decide if further surgery is necessary.
Tags: seat belt, shoulder injuries, during accident, acromioclavicular joint, acromioclavicular joint sprain, also cause, arms above
