Accidental Injury Among the Leading Causes of Death in Men
When researching men’s health topics for this month, I came across an alarming statistic. In 2017, Unintentional injury was listed as the third leading cause of death in men, behind cancer and heart disease.
After living through a pretty normal college experience as a young and energetic male in his late teens/early twenties, my first thought was: “Well that’s not surprising.” Immediately my mind went to all the ridiculous high-risk activities I used to do during those times for a thrill…but that’s a different story for a different day.
Upon researching further, I found some sources that reported that men are twice as likely to die from an accidental injury than women, and that some of the most common types of accidental injury include overdose, motor vehicle accidents, and falls. On the other hand, non-fatal unintentional injuries are composed mostly of falls, inadvertent strike, and overextension. Personally, I can think of at least 3 people off the top of my head (2 of which are men) who had a significant accident last year resulting from a high fall. This resulted in surgical intervention and significant rehab for all 3.
Now, injuries described as “unintentional” or “accidental” generally implies that something could have been done to prevent them. To illustrate this point, I’ll share a recent close call I had with an unintentional injury. A few weeks ago, luck happened to be on my side, and it was no doing of mine that helped prevent an injury of my own. A friend of mine needed some help felling and cutting trees on his land. He was working with an 8,000-pound mini-excavator and I was on the ground with several of our friends. Most of us had chainsaws; we were marking and cutting up the logs as he knocked them over. Now certainly this sets the scene for danger. In one hand you have a very powerful machine that rotates a sharp chain at high rates of speed while in very close proximity to your body. In the other hand (and in the same general area), there is a very large, very heavy, and very powerful machine that is designed to move heavy objects quickly. Combine this with several people in one area, and disaster can happen very quickly with even just a little bit of carelessness. Clearly there’s not much that could be considered “safe” about the scenario I just described.
To provide you with some context, it’s important to note that injury prevention is something that I live and breathe as a lifestyle. Although I’m a chainsaw amateur, I do my best to be very careful when I’m using one. I always wear chaps, steel toes, head, eye, and ear protection, and I use my safety brake between each cut. I do my best to anticipate how a tree, log, or branch will behave as I’m cutting it, and immediately after. More than that, I strength train 3-4 days per week, try to eat right, and get regular cardiovascular exercise as well in some form or another. I believe that in general, fitness and injury prevention go hand-in-hand. But this day there wasn’t any equipment, training, or knowledge that could have saved me.
I had partially cut a log that was in an awkward spot, and couldn’t complete the cut without pinching the saw. So I pulled out the saw, and had my friend lift up the log just slightly with the arm of the mini-excavator. The log was about knee-level. I took my stance, and completed the cut. Immediately the log let go and swung aggressively toward me and just past my knees. It missed me by mere inches. The only thing that saved me was my split stance that I just happened to take at that very moment. Had I been in the way, it would have broken both my legs, and I would likely be recovering in casts as I write this. It happened very quickly.
My main mistake was probably trying to combine the use of the large machine with my cut. I probably should have just had him move it to a more opportune spot and to complete the cut. Additionally, I did a very poor job of anticipating the response of the log after it was cut. Although in that particular scenario, both I and my operator didn’t see it coming. After that I sat down for a few minutes to get my mind right before I made another cut. It was definitely a close one.
The moral of the story is that unintentional accidents can happen to any one of us at any time. Specifically speaking to men during this month, it’s important for us to be careful. To think and try to anticipate what will happen when we’re engaging in those household projects that require us to be up on a ladder, use a piece of heavy equipment, or power tools that can cause unintended injury to ourselves or others. The truth is that if we are not careful, we’re all one hand placement away from an unnecessary missing finger or misstep away from a broken leg. I try my best not to live in fear or let uneasiness stop me from doing things that are reasonable. But over the years, I’ve found that a healthy dose of respect for the tools that you work with and the job at hand can be the invisible missing piece to your injury prevention toolkit.
If you’ve found yourself in the “accidental injury” category and are in need of Physical Therapy, there’s no better place in Marquette County than Active. Give us a call at our Marquette or Ishpeming locations and we will be happy to provide you with a free consultation to see if Physical Therapy is right for you.
Be careful out there men, and be well.