	Article Directory		Article Submission Service		Article Marketing Blog		Publishers		Member Log In

Article Directory :: Business - General Articles

What is Blunt Trauma?

By Leslie Marshall

Republish: EasyPublish™
Published: 11Mar2012
Word count: 631
Viewed: 47 time(s)

Get Free Content For Your Site

Blunt trauma is an energy exchange between an object and the human body, that does not involve intrusion through the skin. The severity of the blunt trauma event is largely determined by speed of the object, and rate of acceleration or deceleration. Blunt traumas can range in severity from a bruise to a life-threatening compression and decompression injury.

In the most extreme forms, such as automobile accidents, blunt trauma can result in fracture of bones, liver laceration, hollow organ rupture, chest trauma, and aortic injury, which may result in serious injury or death. Another cause of blunt trauma involves blast or explosion. In the case of an explosion, the heat and pressure wave caused by the volatile combination of fuel and oxidant causes forceful compression and distortion of the chest cavity. This results in conditions such as pulmonary embolism and dyspnea. The abdomen can also suffer severe compression and decompression, resulting in release of bowel contents and diaphragm rupture from pushed-up organs. A common cause of blunt trauma injury among the elderly is a fall from stairs. In these cases, the height of the fall, surface type, and velocity of the body landing, are key determinants of the degree of blunt trauma injury. Blunt trauma injuries are also associated with high-contact sports such as rugby and American football.

While wearers of bullet proof vests often suffer from blunt trauma injuries from discharged rounds, these have never proved fatal when the bullet is within the vest's level of NIJ or HOSB protection rating. The non-fatal nature of the blunt trauma experienced has to do with protective qualities inherent in the vest composition. In addition to preventing bullets from penetrating, the body armour disperses the blunt trauma exerted by the bullet over the entire protective panel, minimizing the impact of the force to one particular area of the body.

The fibres utilized in Kevlar are twisted, which enhances their density and thickness properties at every impact point. In addition, the fibres are coated with a specially formulated resin and are set within layers of protective plastic. The net effect of this manufacturing process is to create a material that acts as a web when the bullet impacts, slowing it down and deforming the projectile as it encounters successive layers of material. Entering the vest, the bullet deforms at the tip until it resembles a shallow dish. This reduces the energy of the projectile, and the bullet is stopped before penetrating the piece of body armour.

The cumulative effect of the "mushrooming" process is to spread the blunt force impact of the bullet over a wide area of the torso, rather than leaving it concentrated in a particular spot. This in turn prevents a serious injury from occurring. It is worth noting that the more flexible the body armour piece is, the more blunt trauma may occur. This reflects the fact that the ballistic projectile progresses farther into the vest material before being stopped. Some bullet proof vests contain additional layers of non-ballistic material that reduce the degree of blunt trauma experienced. Unfortunately, these added layers increase the vest's bulk, reducing mobility. It is important to note that, while not fatal, the severe bruising experienced from blunt trauma under body armour can be extremely painful and may require weeks to fully heal.

If you are shot in the line of duty, even while wearing a bullet proof vest of appropriate protection level, it is recommended that you have the blunt trauma injury checked by qualified medical staff. Contusions and hematomas can occur under the skin, even with no external wounds present. In severe cases these may require care which only a trained hospital staff is qualified to provide.

We provide an extensive resource of information on Body Armour

EasyPublish™ this article - publishers click here