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What Is Crush Syndrome?

BY: Koszdin | Tuesday, March 14, 2017.

Los Angeles workers like you who are surrounded by heavy equipment or machinery all day are at an increased risk of dealing with work injuries. While some mistakenly believe that freeing people immediately from being pinned or crushed is the best course of action, that may not be the case. In the end, it might actually do more harm than good.

EMS.com states that crush syndrome is one of the biggest potential hazards of crush injuries. There are three “big killers” that can come from crush syndrome, which include renal failure, hypovolemia, and cardiac arrhythmias. If you are trapped beneath rubble, such as from a collapsed portion of a construction zone, or are pinned by equipment for over four hours, your chance of experiencing these three issues increases.

Crush syndrome essentially is the result of your body trying to cope with being compressed with great pressure for an extended period of time. Lack of oxygen to the pinned areas can actually eventually cause cell walls to become thin enough to leak their contents into surrounding tissues, some of which are toxic. This is why it’s important for rescuers to treat you before freeing you, as lifting the weight can actually cause these toxic substances to spread throughout the body, leading to severe and potentially deadly issues like renal failure, liver damage, issues with respiration, or cardiac arrest.

Crush syndrome is just one reason why trained medical professionals should do any extracting from crush situations. It is important for you to be aware of the dangers that acting quickly or rashly might cause.

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