Illustration showing<unk>  between ribs 3-4 Vehicle collisions are the usual cause of<unk> ; the injury is estimated to occur in about 3% of auto accidents. The chest of a driver who is not wearing a seat belt may strike the steering wheel, and the shoulder component of a seatbelt may injure the chest if it is worn without the lap component. It was common enough for the sternum to be injured by the seatbelt that it was included in the 'safety belt syndrome', a pattern of injuries caused by seat belts in vehicle accidents. The injury can also occur when the chest suddenly flexes, in the absence of an impact. In the case of an injury sustained during CPR, the most common injuries sustained are rib fractures, with literature suggesting an incidence between 13% and 97%, and<unk> s, with an incidence between 1% to 43%. Additionally, injury to the sternum may be made more likely if there are other disease processes in place that have weakened the bone - in this case, the fracture that occurs is termed a pathologic fracture.
Sternal fracture
Flail chest
Rib fracture
Pulmonary hematoma
Pulmonary contusion
Thoracic aorta injury
Esophageal rupture
Diaphragmatic rupture