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If you regularly work at height, it's possible that you depend on fall arrest equipment to keep safe while you're on the job. But in the event of a fall, the danger doesn't disappear as soon as your fall arrest system has kicked in and you've been saved from hitting the ground. While you're suspended in mid-air and awaiting rescue, you're at risk of suffering suspension trauma.
What Is Suspension Trauma?
Suspension trauma (also known as harness hang syndrome, or HHS for short) is a condition that can occur when an individual is suspended upright with limited movement for a prolonged period of time.
Symptoms include:
- Light-headedness
- Nausea
- Tingling / numbness in the arms and legs
- Feeling faint
If nothing is done to aid the suspended individual, they will eventually lose consciousness (faint) and may even die.
Why Does Suspension Trauma Occur?
When you're left hanging upright in mid-air, blood pools in your legs and struggles to reach your brain. This prevents your brain from receiving sufficient oxygen.
The human body isn't built for prolonged upright suspension. When you're left hanging after a fall, several factors can combine to endanger your life:
- Gravity makes it harder for blood to be pumped upwards
- Pinched veins can also help to trap blood in your lower body
- Limited movement keeps your muscles from pumping the blood to where it needs to go
- Due to the lack of oxygen being delivered around your body, organs and muscles begin releasing toxic waste products at dangerous levels of concentration
Now, your brain does have the ability to alter your heart and breathing rates when it detects a problem such as blood pooling. The only problem here is that the brain cannot tell the difference between blood pooling and blood loss, so it reacts the same way to both situations. When blood begins to pool in the legs, the brain increases the body's breathing and pulse rates because it thinks you're bleeding. This results in more blood being pushed to the legs.
With increased levels of blood now in the legs, the brain will eventually realise that its own supply is dropping and activate an emergency last resort: making you faint and fall over so that the blood can make then make its way around the body and back to the brain. But of course, you can't fall over when you are hanging in a harness, so you remain upright even as you fall unconscious.
This now places you in severe danger. Your brain still has insufficient oxygen, and now that you've passed out, there's nothing you can do to improve the situation.
How to Treat Suspension Trauma
Suspension trauma is a life-threatening emergency! Upon discovering an individual who has been suspended upright for a prolonged period, summon medical aid immediately.
The longer an individual is left suspended, the greater the risk of suspension trauma. Symptoms are relieved when the individual starts to recline, so the individual should be removed from an upright position as quickly as possible, especially if they are in a motionless state.
If the individual is still conscious, they should be encouraged to gently exercise their legs in order to stimulate blood circulation and increase the lowered blood pressure.
If the individual is not conscious, it is preferable to elevate the lower limbs slightly.
Can Suspension Trauma Be Prevented?
As in most situations, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Before entering a work situation where mid-air suspension is a possible outcome, make sure you have an adequate plan to ensure a swift and safe rescue.
An important factor to consider is the type of safety harness you're wearing. Harnesses that restrict movement and tighten the legs when hanging can accelerate the onset of suspension trauma.
Here at Safety Liftin Gear, we're experts in helping workers to operate safely at height. Our suspension trauma straps effectively allow you to stand up while suspended, assisting normal blood flow and increasing the amount of time that can be spent safely awaiting rescue.
If you have any questions or queries regarding height safety or our range of trauma straps, please don't hesitate to contact the Safety Liftin Gear team for assistance.
