Types of Injuries caused by Skydiving

[flyinmedic 0]

Hey all,

I'm a paramedic who skydives (yes, im just beginning). Over the weekend I was reading an EMS magazine and read an article about EMS in the racing setting. This gave me an idea: to write an article for this magazine regarding skydiving injuries.

I understand there are many injuries that can occur, but I am guessing there are some that happen more then others. It would also teach EMS about the different "mechanisms of injury" that cause the injuries in skydiving . This is one of the ways that EMS personnel guage the trauma. I beleive that this would be a great way to educate the people who care for the injured ones.

So here are some of the questions I have: Has something like this ever been done? Is there anyone out there who would be interested in helping me do this? Does anyone know a good place to collect info on types of injuries?

Thanks in advance.

Herschel

[GravityGirl 0]

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So here are some of the questions I have: Has something like this ever been done? Is there anyone out there who would be interested in helping me do this? Does anyone know a good place to collect info on types of injuries?

Yes. By Bryan Burke at Skydive Arizona in an effort to educate local emergency crews. The man is a wealth of information. Give him a shout.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peace and Blue Skies!
Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear!

[Tink1717 2]

Good luck. In my experience, the fire department and EMS staff are uninterested in learning about how to rescue and care for injured skydivers. They seem to equate them with motor vehicle accidents and also can't get past the bias against skydiving to understand the things needed to make rescue and care more efficient.

Skydivers don't knock on Death's door. They ring the bell and runaway... It really pisses him off.
-The World Famous Tink. (I never heard of you either!!)
AA #2069 ASA#33 POPS#8808 Swooo 1717

[tombuch 0]

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Good luck. In my experience, the fire department and EMS staff are uninterested in learning about how to rescue and care for injured skydivers. They seem to equate them with motor vehicle accidents and also can't get past the bias against skydiving to understand the things needed to make rescue and care more efficient.

I think that's the point of the proposed article.

I'm an EMT and S&TA at a large Northeast drop zone. We had 15 ambulance calls last year and 22 the year before that. Our average last year was one ambulance call for every 2,989 jumps. Most are minor, but each season we can expect 3-4 life threats.

I find our emergencies break down into several categories, and an understanding of mechanism of injury will help rescuers to identify injuries.

First, we have students with minor injuries such as sprained ankles or dislocated shoulders. The ankle injuries are usually not a big deal and are caused by poor landing position. Shoulder injuries tend to develop on a tandem skydive, usually related to a preexisting injury. These minor injuries are often easy to treat on the scene with a suggestion that the student seek medical assistance, but because of liability concerns we tend to call for professional help. Responders shouldn’t worry too much about these calls.

Second, we have generally poor landings that are straight ahead or involve a small turn near the ground with most of the energy dissipated forward along the ground. These accidents generally involve ankle or lower leg injury and nothing much more. The key is that the landing is straight in with limited energy. The jumper is likely to be A+O3 and angry at himself for making an error. There is rarely any kind of life threat.

Third, we have high speed turning injuries, often referred to as “hook turn” accidents. These events generally involve blunt trauma to the legs followed by energy distribution to the body core and finally the head. Hook turns often begin with a femur or pelvis injury, or sometimes both. The jumper continues moving and often delivers some remaining energy to the head. Any injury involving significant turning impact should be treated as a spinal injury. These accidents can be fatal and should be treated aggressively. One of the critical issues is how fast the deceleration was. If the jumper slammed in fast, internal deceleration injuries with bleeding should be considered

Fourth, we have stalled parachutes, or landings that are at slow speed but straight down, rather than straight ahead. These accidents are likely to happen on gusty or turbulent days, or to tandem jumpers. In these accidents the first point of significant contact is often the jumpers butt. The most common result is a compressed or fractured L-1, although other injuries may also exist and may include compression to other vertebra. Keep in mind that if a jumper landed a main parachute the reserve is still in the container and if the jumper lands with backward movement the bulky reserve will apply pressure to the center of the spine. A jumper will often not consider these kinds of accidents as serious, although they are.

Fifth, we have serious malfunctions that involve significant downward movement. These accidents almost always involve leg injury, back injury, and some internal injury. Sudden deceleration injuries can often include a torn aorta, so transport times should be kept to a minimum. These accidents are potentially fatal and should be handled aggressively. When a jumper lands with a partially open parachute it should be handled as a life threat. Massive trauma that appears to be fatal may be survivable. Responders should not give up on any patient.

Skydivers have a variety of helmets, and many jump without helmets. The helmets used in the sport may or may not provide any real protection. A responder should inspect a helmet for damage. Often a patient who says he didn’t hit his head will have a helmet with dirt or fresh scratches and should be treated for head and spinal injury. Consider that skydivers usually land on their feet first. If any energy reached the head and damaged or marked the helmet responders should anticipate back/neck injury. Helmets are of many varieties and may be difficult for a responder to remove.

In recent years there have been several cases of heart attack in freefall. Generally these are caused by preexisting conditions aggravated by the reduced atmospheric pressure (about .6 ATM at 14,000 feet) and both stress and physical exertion. Chest pain or shortness of breath that lasts for more than a few minutes should be taken seriously.

These are the basics of skydiving accidents. Of course every call to a drop zone may not be a serious injury. We also have simple slip-and-falls, bee stings with allergic reactions, drug overdoses, and everything else that follows a standard crowd of young people playing outdoors.

Responders should also be prepared for a mass causality incident involving a plane crash with fuel spill and possible injury to people on the ground. Airplane accidents may happen on or near the drop zone, or they may happen in another jurisdiction. All responders should have a plan to deal with a MCI.

Responders should know that jumpers have expensive equipment and would rather a rig NOT be cut off. Sometimes that is necessary. I’ve found that if a jumper does not complain or resist when it is suggested that his rig be cut off, then the injury should be considered a life threat. Responders should seek guidance and help from responsible jumper on the scene. To this end, emergency crews that have a drop zone in their coverage area should develop an advance relationship with the local jumpers. Training topics might include rig and helmet removal or separation of tandem harnesses, and drop zones are usually happy to help with this training. Respect gets respect and helps everybody to deal with a stressful situation. See the article I wrote (Article 10-In an Emergency) for The Ranch web site at: http://ranchskydive.com/safety/index.htm

Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy

[flyinmedic 0]

You guys are great! Thanx for the quick responses.

Tom, I like the way you divided up the different mechanisms.

One more question: Does USPA give out information regarding different injuries/death? I understand there is an issue of patient confidentiality, but I would need a decent number of injuries to form a trend that the magazine would consider "fair game"

Thanks again,

Herschel

[flyinmedic 0]

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In my experience, the fire department and EMS staff are uninterested in learning about how to rescue and care for injured skydivers. They seem to equate them with motor vehicle accidents and also can't get past the bias against skydiving to understand the things needed to make rescue and care more efficient.

That may be true in some cases. But that is exactly the point of this article. Where I work, everyone is interested about skydiving. They ask me how its going. Initially some thought I was just plain nuts, but after some discussion they are understanding it. If we dont educate then of course there will be bias.

Herschel

[tombuch 0]

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One more question: Does USPA give out information regarding different injuries/death? I understand there is an issue of patient confidentiality, but I would need a decent number of injuries to form a trend that the magazine would consider "fair game"

Nope. USPA does not even track the types of injuries or accidents other than fatal accidents. All members are asked to report the number of doctor visits each year when they renew their membership. Those reports show an average of one doctor visit for a skydiving related problem for every 22 jumpers (four year average). That's about one reported doctor visit for every 1,721 jumps (2002 numbers).

Tom Buchanan
Instructor Emeritus
Comm Pilot MSEL,G
Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy