Question for anyone who was in a bad car wreck

[MrDangerous]

I totaled my car the other day, and the seat belt seems to have done a number on my chest. Xrays say no broken ribs, but there's a lot of pain. I suspect Costochondritis. The Dr said I have one of the worst seat-belt bruises he's seen.

Right now on occasion I hear a thud/pop in my chest from time to time. I suspect broken/torn cartilage. It hurts to do anything that causes my rib cage to flex. Or to put my arms behind my back. But the popping is the most unnerving.

Anyone else had this specific type of injury? How long did it last?

 

[mcapozzi]

I'd press your doctor to get an MRI (or at least a CT) of the chest/upper abdomen and x-rays of the spine.

My ex had a bruise across her chest that lasted six weeks. It went from blue to purple to green to yellow. No weird chest popping though.

The funny thing was that she was my ex at the time of the accident, but my number was the only one she could remember after the impact. That kinda pissed my current gf off, big time. But who cares, that thieving POS is going to be my ex-wife in a couple weeks, woohoo!

-Mike

 

[NYCHitman1]

But who cares, that thieving POS is going to be my ex-wife in a couple weeks, woohoo!

-Mike

"How do most men define marriage? A very expensive way to get your laundry done for free"

Congrats on divorce?

 

[ballisticn8]

haha, divorce party... to the OP as it was said get an MRI or CT done to get a better idea of the possible damage done. xray only looks strictly at bone.

 

[imtoomuch]

Yeah I've always wondered why people throw huge, lavish, and expensive parties/receptions when they are throwing their freedom away yet when they get divorced and regain their freedom nobody throws these huge parties. Why is that? I'm guessing because one person is usually heart broken and the other is broke because the heart broken one is taking them to the cleaners.

Anyway, the way to avoid getting seat belt bruisies is to not wear them! I know that's not PC and "OMG my face would have smashed the windshield instead", but alas you won't pursuade me. I've known more people who have been told they would have been hurt or killed if they had their seatbelt on than I know people who were saved any injuries by seatbelts. Plus, we have airbags these days to help hold you in and keep you safe and you're probably going to get punched in the face by them no matter what.

 

[ballisticn8]

no seatbelts or airbags on a bike, but my car likes to cuss me out (beep beep beep beep beep) until I put the seatbelt on so I wear it when I'm in the cage...

 

[TheBrit]

I totaled my car the other day, and the seat belt seems to have done a number on my chest. Xrays say no broken ribs, but there's a lot of pain. I suspect Costochondritis. The Dr said I have one of the worst seat-belt bruises he's seen.

Right now on occasion I hear a thud/pop in my chest from time to time. I suspect broken/torn cartilage. It hurts to do anything that causes my rib cage to flex. Or to put my arms behind my back. But the popping is the most unnerving.

Anyone else had this specific type of injury? How long did it last?

I'd rather have that then be impaled on the steering column or otherwise spread out across the highway in small pieces.

You might want to go back to your doctor for more tests though.

 

[mcapozzi]

I'd rather have that then be impaled on the steering column or otherwise spread out across the highway in small pieces.

You might want to go back to your doctor for more tests though.

Yes, because airbags don't always go off. At least in this day and age the steering columns are collapsible so you won't get impaled.

Being ejected from the vehicle usually doesn't kill you until you land.

-Mike

 

[J03]

Anyway, the way to avoid getting seat belt bruisies is to not wear them! I know that's not PC and "OMG my face would have smashed the windshield instead", but alas you won't pursuade me. I've known more people who have been told they would have been hurt or killed if they had their seatbelt on than I know people who were saved any injuries by seatbelts. Plus, we have airbags these days to help hold you in and keep you safe and you're probably going to get punched in the face by them no matter what.

For anyone else reading this thread, please don't listen to this guy.

 

[MrDangerous]

The doctor said I would have been killed if I didn't have my belt on.

 

[Alieno]

I totaled my car the other day, and the seat belt seems to have done a number on my chest. Xrays say no broken ribs, but there's a lot of pain. I suspect Costochondritis. The Dr said I have one of the worst seat-belt bruises he's seen.

Anyone else had this specific type of injury? How long did it last?

My father was in a bad crash about 3 years ago, he had a two foot-long bruise probably 6 inches in width going down the length of his chest from the seatbelt, which also left him with several cracked ribs. But these injuries are always MUCH better than the alternative of not using a seatbelt at all.

I work in law enforcement, and I've investigated and seen really awful crashes where the drivers/passengers didn't have their seatbelts on and got ejected (or partially ejected) or they hit the steering wheel or windshield.

A bad crash will leave you sore for several days, definitely see a doctor to determine if there is something else going on.

 

[imtoomuch]

For anyone else reading this thread, please don't listen to this guy.

For anyone else reading this thread, please don't listen to this guy!

 

[vexhold]

To be safe and eliminate most crash related bruising, install a 5 point seat harness and you'll be golden.

OP - Feel free to go to the doc and get rechecked, but unfort. there is nothing that can be done as far as treatment for chest injuries (i.e. bone, cart, tendon, etc). They can help you deal with the pain though. Good Luck!

 

[J03]

Anyway, the way to avoid getting seat belt bruisies is to not wear them! I know that's not PC and "OMG my face would have smashed the windshield instead", but alas you won't pursuade me. I've known more people who have been told they would have been hurt or killed if they had their seatbelt on than I know people who were saved any injuries by seatbelts. Plus, we have airbags these days to help hold you in and keep you safe and you're probably going to get punched in the face by them no matter what.

For anyone else reading this thread, please don't listen to this guy!

Please, your post is littered with ignorance. There is not a single person you know that would have been killed in an accident had they been wearing their seat belt. Saying otherwise is either a complete lie or some equally stupid person telling them so. There is absolutely no situation, short of your car spontaneously combusting, where having a seatbelt on is a hindrance to your safety. The airbag statement just sealed the deal on your lack of knowledge in how these systems work. The airbags are meant to work in conjunction with your seatbelt (hence the SRS logo which stands for Supplemental Restraint System) and can cause more harm then good if deployed without a seatbelt engaged. In fact, just for your reading pleasure I googled a site:

How Effective in Preventing Death and Injury Are Safety Belts and Air Bags?

Air bags used alone actually cause 8% MORE frontal damage to the occupant then no airbags and no seatbelt. Forget the fact that a front airbag isn't going to protect you AT ALL in a rollover, side impact, rear end, or partial frontal impact collision.

So again, do not listen to imtoomuch, its only a matter of time before Darwin comes and claims him and his friends.

 

[LiamSHepard]

I totaled my car the other day, and the seat belt seems to have done a number on my chest. Xrays say no broken ribs, but there's a lot of pain. I suspect Costochondritis. The Dr said I have one of the worst seat-belt bruises he's seen.

Right now on occasion I hear a thud/pop in my chest from time to time. I suspect broken/torn cartilage. It hurts to do anything that causes my rib cage to flex. Or to put my arms behind my back. But the popping is the most unnerving.

Anyone else had this specific type of injury? How long did it last?

I'm not a doctor so I can't say more than keep going to the doctor. A piece of advice though, if you are that messed up DO NOT under any circumstances take a lump sum of money from the insurance. They will cease to cover any medical expenses related to the accident if you do.

In reference to the above thread I have a story. In high school, I actually had two friends involved in a car accident. One wore a seat belt one did not. The one not wearing the seatbelt was thrown out of the windshield and miraculously only had a few minor scrapes. The driver wearing the seatbelt was impaled when the steering column failed to crush the way it was supposed to. It took me years after to overcome my fear of seat belts after that.
Statistics being a shady area of math, do wear the seatbelt and disregard the post about not wearing it. Provided the statistics are accurate, they do show you are more likely to survive an accident.

 

[aftcg]

I had the same problem as OP. My popping what my sternum that had a dislocation. It went away after about a year. But it'll still get tight after a heavy lift day, or too much swimming/surfing.

 

[imtoomuch]

Please, your post is littered with ignorance. There is not a single person you know that would have been killed in an accident had they been wearing their seat belt. Saying otherwise is either a complete lie or some equally stupid person telling them so. There is absolutely no situation, short of your car spontaneously combusting, where having a seatbelt on is a hindrance to your safety. The airbag statement just sealed the deal on your lack of knowledge in how these systems work. The airbags are meant to work in conjunction with your seatbelt (hence the SRS logo which stands for Supplemental Restraint System) and can cause more harm then good if deployed without a seatbelt engaged. In fact, just for your reading pleasure I googled a site:

How Effective in Preventing Death and Injury Are Safety Belts and Air Bags?

Air bags used alone actually cause 8% MORE frontal damage to the occupant then no airbags and no seatbelt. Forget the fact that a front airbag isn't going to protect you AT ALL in a rollover, side impact, rear end, or partial frontal impact collision.

So again, do not listen to imtoomuch, its only a matter of time before Darwin comes and claims him and his friends.

You are calling me a liar without even knowing me or knowing facts of the events which I am speaking. Who is the ignorant one now?

The airbag part was sarcasm hence the "punched in the face" part of the sentence. Durrr

 

[hood420]

I hit someone going about 60 mph about 6 months ago. My head hurt for a few weeks and my chest ached for about a month. I never went to the doctor, but I've had no lasting effects as far as I can tell. I couldn't imagine what the crash would have been like without a seatbelt or an airbag, it was my first crash and I was shocked at just how much force was involved.

 

[eyebeam]

One more pro-seat belt post. Several years ago, in a light rain, the wife and I hydroplaned at about 85mph on the freeway. Car went sideways, and we ended up going in the ditch, then jumping the car on the opposite bank. The car was seriously flying - at a guess 10-15 feet in the air. We went end over end (back to front) 1 1/2 times and landed on the roof in a cornfield about 60 feet off the road. The first people on the scene were shocked to find us alive, much less relatively ok. Whiplash for her, a pretty cut up arm for me (it went through the side window) and some good bruises for both. Car was totaled. That's it. I really can't believe it wasn't much, much worse and am quite sure that at least one of us would've died had we not been belted in. I still occasionally get flashbacks to those few second in the air. Seriously folks - belt up. You never know what could happen. The end.