A word on airbags

Global statistics support the overall benefit of airbags when used properly. However, I would like my neighbors here to be aware of certain dangers associated with airbags specifically the injuries that affect the musculoskeletal system. I urge all of my patients to use airbags, but to do so safely. Here are a few pointers:

1. Buckle up: While airbags save lives, there are no substitutes for seatbelts. The two safety devices were designed to work together. Research shows that buckling your seat belt is more important than airbags for overall safety. A study of all passenger vehicle crashes in the United States from 1990 through 2000, which included 51,031 driver passenger pairs in the same vehicle, found that "airbags reduced the risk of death by about 18% when used alone, whearas seat belts reduce the risk of death by 65%." (British medical Journal 2002; 324: 1119. )
2. Keep your distance: "Despite the overall protective effect of airbags, they can cause fatal and nonfatal injuries if the drivers head, neck, chest or arms are too close to the deploying airbags." (British Journal of Ophthalmology 2001; 85:640.) Drivers should have 10 in. (25 cm) of space between the center of the steering column and their chest. A British study found that, "airbags have been advocated as a supplemental restraint system. However, their deployment can cause injury particularly if the driver is of a short stature, unrestrained and out of position within the vehicle." (Ann R Coll Surg Engl 2004;86:149-55.) Tilting the steering wheel down and raising the seat up will allow most drivers, even those under 5 ft., 4 in., to "sit at least 10 in. from the steering wheel and still drive comfortably.” Some cars have telescoping steering wheels or extendors for petals that can help with this." (Medical update 2000; 24:1.)
3. Children: If your child is less than 4 ft. tall, experts warn against placing them in the front seat of the car with airbags: Even when secured by a seat belt. The danger is especially great in the older cars with "first-generation" side airbags. Even the new side airbags pose a risk to children, according to the American Academy of pediatrics. While these new devices improve safety for adults and side-impact crashes, improperly restrained children seated near a side airbag may be at risk for serious injury. On its web site the academy urges parents check their vehicles owner's manual for information on children and side airbags.
4. Hand placement on wheel: Many people were taught to place her hand in the 10 and two o'clock position in their drivers ed class. Unfortunately, this position can result in broken wrists when air bags deploy. If you have an airbag a better position would be nine o'clock and three o'clock on the steering wheel with your fingers resting on top of the wheel. After reviewing the cases of 25,464 accident victims, researchers in Virginia concluded that "an analysis of the cases indicated that occupants exposed to an airbag deployment were statistically more likely to sustained a severe upper extremity injury ,like broken wrists, than those occupants not exposed to an airbag deployment."
5. Protect your eyes: Although airbags reduced deaths, they can also cause injury to the facial skeleton and eye when they suddenly deploy and strike the face and eyes (American Journal of Emergency Medicine 2003; 20: For 90). Injury to the eye from air bags can include the following: abrasions, lacerations of the cornea and retinal hemorrhage or detachment. Research has shown that to wearing glasses helped protect the eyes from airbag chemicals. ( J Craniomaxillofacsurg2004;32;35-7). If you have undergone the radial keratotomy for the correction of moderate myopia there is an increased risk for corneal rupture. (British Journal of Ophthalmology 2001; 85:640).
6. Afterwards: If you or any of the members of your family are involved in a motor vehicle accident, please call your chiropractor immediately. As your partners in health, we will do everything we can do to see you as soon as possible. Many of us have specialized training to deal with car accident victims. Often, we are the best choice for patients that have been injured in a motor vehicle accident. We have the training to diagnose serious conditions and we can refer you to a surgeon if necessary. Otherwise, the most effective treatment for whiplash is chiropractic. Blunt trauma from an airbag to the chest region can result in many types of injuries, including restriction or misalignment of the spinal bones. Early intervention has proven to be the key and avoiding prolonged symptoms. (Spine 2000; 25: 1782-1786.)