Overweight Kids At Greater Risk Of Arm Injury in Car Crashes
A new report from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Injury Research and Policy has concluded that during a motor vehicle crash, children who are overweight are more than twice as likely to experience arm injury than children of normal weight for their age. Troy, MI parents of overweight children who have experienced arm injury due to a car accident, contact Dr. Rehman, the Troy, MI area’s leading arm injury doctor.
Arm Injury With Or Without Car Safety Seats
Previously, it had been reported that overweight children were at a greater risk for arm injury during car accidents due to ill-fitting car safety seats. However, a study conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Century for Injury Research and Policy concluded that overweight children who do not require booster seats stand a greater risk of arm injury during motor vehicle accidents as well.
The study, which sampled children between the ages of 9 and 15, focused on children who were at least five feet tall, as to observe the impact and arm injuries sustained by children who did not require booster seats.
Overweight Kids Sustain More Arm Injury During Car Crashes
Data was collected from child-focused crash surveillance system Partners for Child Passenger Safety (PCPS) to analyze injuries -including arm injuries- sustained by children in car accidents from the years 2000 to 2006. Each child in the study was being driven by a parent, with 96% of the children wearing some form of seatbelt during the time of their arm injury. Half of the children were seated in the front seat.
It is believed that the increased risk of arm injury faced by overweight children during car accidents is both physiological and biomechanical. Individuals with weaker bone strength have been proven to be more susceptible to arm injury and other fractures of the extremities. As overweight children are more likely to have weaker bones, this is believed to be one cause of their increased risk for arm injury.
Additionally, with motor vehicle accidents being the leading cause of death among children in the United States, it is believed that safety measures to reduce the burden of injuries following car crashes have simply not accounted for the fact that one out of every three children in the U.S. is overweight or obese.
When operating a motor vehicle with child passengers, it is always imperative to take every safety precaution available. But even the most careful driver cannot guarantee the safety of themselves or others 100% of the time.
Top Troy, MI Area Arm Injury Doctor
If your child requires the care of an arm injury doctor, contact Dr. Rehman, the Troy MI-area’s leading arm injury doctor, for a consultation regarding proper treatment.
Especially in children, early detection, awareness, and a treatment plan is the most effective way to prevent long term damage from any arm injury.
Doctor Rehman will assess your child’s individual situation, and prescribe the treatments that are best for his or her condition.
