Injury

Millions of people experience injuries every year, ranging from minor cuts and bruises to life-threatening conditions. Understanding what injuries are, how they happen, and how to recover can help you navigate these challenging experiences and get back to your daily life.

Table of contents

• What Is an Injury?
• Common Types of Injuries
• How Injuries Happen
• The Impact of Injuries
• Treatment Approaches
• Recovery and Coping Strategies
• Prevention

What Is an Injury?

An injury is damage to your body. It is a general term that refers to harm caused by accidents, falls, hits, weapons, and more^[1]. More specifically, injury refers to the damage or interruption of normal body tissue function caused by an energy transfer that exceeds the limit of tissue tolerance^[3].

Injuries can result from acute trauma, which happens in a single sudden event, or from cumulative micro-trauma, which develops gradually from repetitive events over time^[3]. These injuries do not include genetic, degenerative, mental, and pathogenic disease or conditions^[3].

A traumatic injury is when you’re suddenly hurt and have serious injuries like bleeding, broken bones or head injuries. Traumatic injuries are medical emergencies^[4]. In the United States, millions of people injure themselves every year, and these injuries range from minor to life-threatening^[1].

Common Types of Injuries

Injuries take many forms depending on how they occur and what part of the body is affected. Understanding the different types can help you recognize when to seek medical care.

Wounds are injuries that break the skin or other body tissues. They include cuts, scrapes, scratches, and punctured skin. These often happen because of an accident, but surgery, sutures, and stitches also cause wounds^[1]. Minor wounds usually aren’t serious, but it is important to clean them. Serious and infected wounds may require first aid followed by a visit to your doctor^[1].

Healthcare providers classify traumatic injuries by how an injury happens and the impact it has on your body. There are three types of traumatic injuries^[4]:

• Blunt force traumatic injury: This is the most common type. Blunt force is when something hits you so hard that you have injuries like broken bones, internal bleeding or external bleeding from very deep cuts or wounds or head injuries like a severe concussion.
• Deceleration traumatic injury: This happens when you’re in motion and you suddenly stop. For example, if you’re driving and hit something, your head may hit the steering wheel. When that happens, your brain may bounce from back to front or side to side, causing brain damage.
• Penetrating traumatic injury: These happen when something breaks through your skin so you have a wound. You may have penetrating trauma from assaults like a shooting or stabbing, but you may also have one if you fall on a very sharp object or are hit by shrapnel from an explosion.

Other common types of injuries include^[1]:

• Animal bites
• Bruises
• Burns
• Dislocations
• Electrical injuries
• Fractures (broken bones)
• Sprains and strains

Over 95% of military injuries are musculoskeletal injuries, which are caused by a mechanical energy transfer. Most of these (more than two-thirds) are caused by cumulative microtrauma, known as ‘overuse’ injuries, from repetitive contact with surfaces such as the ground^[3].

How Injuries Happen

In the United States, millions of people injure themselves every year. These injuries can happen at work or play, indoors or outdoors, driving a car, or walking across the street^[1].

Excessive energy can be transferred from sources that are mechanical (physical contact, including repetitive contact with a surface), environmental (heat, cold, or altitude), poisons (drugs, toxins, or chemicals), radiation, or electrical^[3].

Falls and motor vehicle crashes are the most common causes of traumatic injuries. But you can have a traumatic injury from an assault, like being shot, stabbed or hit hard with an object^[4].

Sports and physical activities also lead to injuries. Accidents, overtraining and contact sports can lead to sports injuries^[8]. Injuries in sports can happen suddenly, or they can develop slowly over time. Acute injuries happen with sudden, excessive force. Repetitive strain injuries happen when you repeatedly overuse a body part^[8].

The Impact of Injuries

Injuries take the lives of 4.4 million people around the world each year and constitute nearly 8% of all deaths. For people aged 5 to 29 years, three of the top five causes of death are injury-related, namely road traffic injuries, homicide and suicide^[6].

Injuries are the leading cause of death and disability in children and young adults. Each year, more than 140,000 Americans die from injuries, and one person in three suffers a nonfatal injury^[7]. Injury is the last major plague of the young. Injuries kill more Americans aged 1 to 34 than all diseases combined, and they are the leading cause of death up to the age of 44^[7].

Injuries cause the loss of more working years of life than all forms of cancer and heart disease combined. One of every eight hospital beds is occupied by an injured patient^[7]. Every year, more than 80,000 people in the United States join the ranks of those with unnecessary, but permanently disabling, injury of the brain or spinal cord^[7].

Beyond death and injury, exposure to any form of trauma, particularly in childhood, can increase the risk of mental illness and suicide, smoking, alcohol and substance abuse, chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes and cancer, and social problems such as poverty, crime and violence^[6].

Injuries constitute one of the most expensive health problems, costing $75 to $100 billion a year directly and indirectly^[7]. Injuries and violence place a massive burden on national economies, costing countries billions of US dollars each year in health care, lost productivity and law enforcement^[6].

Treatment Approaches

The treatment you need depends on the type and severity of your injury. Injuries obviously requiring medical attention include severe bleeding, obvious deformity in the bone or joint, or significant swelling and pain^[1].

For minor injuries, healthcare providers typically recommend RICE, which stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation^[17][18]:

• Rest: Pain is your body’s way of telling you to rest an injured area. However, some light exercise can help you heal more quickly.
• Ice: Ice is a great pain reliever. It numbs the injured area and reduces swelling. Put the ice pack on the injured area for 20 minutes and then remove it for 20 minutes. Never put ice or an ice pack directly on the skin.
• Compression: Putting pressure on an injury helps limit swelling and gives support. Wrap the injured area with an elastic bandage.
• Elevation: Keeping an injury raised helps reduce swelling. Keep the injured part above the level of your heart.

With RICE, you should see improvements within 24 to 36 hours. If your injury doesn’t improve, call your healthcare provider^[18].

Common treatments for sports and other injuries include^[12][15]:

• Physical therapy: Physical therapy can help to improve range of motion, strength, and flexibility. It can also help to reduce pain and inflammation.
• Anti-inflammatory medication: Medication such as ibuprofen can help to reduce pain and inflammation.
• Massage therapy: Massage can reduce muscle soreness, tension, swelling, and post-accident pain.
• Immobilization: In some cases, it may be necessary to immobilize the injured area with a cast, brace, or splint to allow it to heal.
• Surgery: Surgery may be necessary if other treatments are not effective, particularly for torn ligaments, bones, or other serious injuries.

Serious injuries require immediate medical care. Traumatic injuries are medical emergencies. If you think you or someone else may have a serious injury, call 911 or emergency services right away^[4].

Recovery and Coping Strategies

Life after injury often involves a continuous process of facing new challenges. Depending on the type of injury, these may include memory loss, concentration problems, difficulty processing information, physical problems, and problems with sight and hearing^[26].

Understanding the phases of healing can help you know what to expect^[22]:

1. Inflammatory phase: This is the immediate response to injury, usually lasting a few days. You might notice swelling, redness, and pain. It’s important to rest and protect the injured part.
2. Repair phase: This can last from a few days to several weeks. Your body works to repair the injured tissues. Pain and swelling start to subside, but the area might still be weak.
3. Remodeling phase: This final phase can last several months. The body continues to build strong and healthy tissues to replace the damaged ones.

Recovery involves both physical and mental aspects. It is not uncommon for injuries to fuel feelings of isolation, frustration, anxiety and even depression. Missing out on competition or regular activities can affect your emotional well-being, social well-being, and your self-concept or identity^[19].

Here are strategies that can help during recovery^{[19][20][24][26]}:

• Set clear and realistic goals: Set SMART goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound to keep progress achievable.
• Visualize a healthy you: Studies have shown that when we visualize an action and actually perform that action, we stimulate the same regions in our brains.
• Be optimistic: Keep a mantra written somewhere. Read it or repeat it to yourself when doubts creep in.
• Focus on the present: By focusing on the here and now instead of the future, you’re actually doing yourself a service.
• Honor your feelings: Recognizing negative emotions and then letting go of them is the first step toward healing. Feeling low is a perfectly normal response to injury.
• Accept help and support: Don’t be afraid to talk to people about how you feel. Chatting to loved ones and telling them what is occupying your mind is a healthy way of coming to terms with your injury.
• Find something else to focus on: Find something else that excites you and can occupy some of that passion while you recover.

The way you approach your injury can help you heal. There is really good research that suggests that your mindset, your attitude, and your self-talk during your recovery will impact the duration and longevity of recovery^[24].

At-home therapies can boost your recovery^[22]:

• Ice and heat therapy
• Gentle stretching exercises
• Strengthening exercises
• Self-massage
• Proper hydration and nutrition

Prevention

Injury is not an insoluble problem. Exciting opportunities to understand and prevent injuries and reduce their effects are available^[7].

There are various factors that make people more vulnerable to injury, including age, lifestyle, and certain behaviors. Things known to increase risk of injury include^[21]:

• Improper training habits, including poor form and incorrect techniques
• Overtraining by training too frequently or for too long
• Beginning activity at full throttle rather than building intensity over time
• Not warming up or stretching
• Running or jumping on hard surfaces
• Not wearing proper equipment or wearing old or broken equipment
• Having a prior injury

Preventing injuries and violence will facilitate achievement of several health goals. It can also contribute to substantial health, social and economic gains^[6].

Regular physical activity, including strength training, is good for your body and your mental and emotional health. Taking a holistic approach that incorporates movement, nutrition, sleep, and stress management and adjusting it to meet your needs and goals is key to staying injury-free^[21].