Journal of Trauma and Injury

The Korean Society of Traumatology (대한외상학회)
권호 표지

Characteristics of Wrist Injuries in Snowboarding

스노보드 손상 환자에 있어서 손목 손상의 특성

  • Kim, Yeong Jun (Department of Emergency Medicine, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University) ;
  • Lee, Kang Hyun (Department of Emergency Medicine, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University) ;
  • Cha, Kyoung Chul (Department of Emergency Medicine, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University) ;
  • Kim, Hyun (Department of Emergency Medicine, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University) ;
  • Hwang, Sung Oh (Department of Emergency Medicine, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University) ;
  • Oh, Jin Rok (Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Wonju College of Medicine, Yonsei University)
  • 김영준 (연세대학교 원주의과대학 응급의학교실) ;
  • 이강현 (연세대학교 원주의과대학 응급의학교실) ;
  • 차경철 (연세대학교 원주의과대학 응급의학교실) ;
  • 김현 (연세대학교 원주의과대학 응급의학교실) ;
  • 황성오 (연세대학교 원주의과대학 응급의학교실) ;
  • 오진록 (연세대학교 원주의과대학 정형외과학교실)
  • Received : 2009.04.03
  • Accepted : 2009.06.07
  • Published : 2009.06.30
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the characteristics and severity of wrist injuries in snowboarding. Methods: December 2005 to February 2008, Snowboarders who experienced wrist injures were included in this study. On the basis of the medical records and radiographic evaluation, the severity of distal radius fracture was classified according to the Arbeitsgemeinschaft fur Osteosynthesefragen/Association for the Study of Internal Fixation (AO/ASIF) classification. Results: Most of the injured snowboarders were a either of the beginner (35 cases, 46.1%) or the intermediate (27 cases, 35.5%) level. The most common cause of injury in snowboarding was a slip down (60 cases, 78.9%). Comminuted and articular fractures classified as AO types A3, B, and C, which required surgical reduction, made up 42.3% of the distal radial fractures in snowboarders. When we analyzed the differences in severity between the educated and the non-educated groups, an A2 type injury in the AO classification was the most common type of injury in the educated group (20 cases, 38.5%), it means less severe fractures ocurred in the educated group (p=0.045). The most frequent injury mechanism of fractures was slip down (48 cases, 63.2%), and a slip down backwards was the dominant type of slip down (36 cases, 75.0%) (p=0.031). Conclusion: Among the snowboarders in this study who suffered self-down injury to the wrist, more fractures were associated with a backwards slip down than with a forward slip down due to over extension. For educated snowboarders the severity of fracture was lower than it was for uneducated snowboarders.

Keywords

References

  1. Lim JC, Kim H, Lim KS, Hwang SO. Clinical survey of ski injury. J Korean Soc Emerg Med 1996;7:268-73
  2. Lee YH, Lee JM, Kim KW, Kang SJ, Park JM, Moon JH, et al. The factors associated with fractures by snowboard injuries. Korea J Sports Med. 2000;18:301-6
  3. Young CC, Niedfeldt MW. Snowboarding injuries. Am Fam Physician 1999 Jan 1;59:131-6
  4. Sasaki K, Takagi M, Ida H, Yamakawa M, Ogino T. Severity of upper limb injuries in snowboarding. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 1999;119:292-5 https://doi.org/10.1007/s004020050413
  5. Matsumoto K, Sumi H, Sumi Y, Shimizu K. Wrist fractures from snowboarding. Clin J Sport Med 2004;14:64-71 https://doi.org/10.1097/00042752-200403000-00003
  6. Wulf CA, Ackerman DB, Rizzo M. Contemporary evaluation and treatment of distal radius fractures. Hand Clin. 2007 May;23(2):209-26 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hcl.2007.03.003
  7. Belloti JC, Tamaoki MJ, Balbachevsky D, Chap Chap E, Albertoni WM, Faloppa F. et al. Are distal radius fracture classifications reproducible? Intra and interobserver agreement. Sao Paulo Med J. 2008 May;126(3):180-5
  8. Thurston AJ. 'Ao' or eponyms: the classification of wrist fractures. ANZ J Surg. 2005 May;75(5):347-55 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1445-2197.2005.03414.x
  9. Idzikowski JR, Janes PC, Abbott PJ. Upper extremity snowboarding injuries: ten-year results from the Colorado snowboard injury survey. Am J Sports Med. 2000;28:825?32
  10. Machold W, Kolonja A, Kwasny O, Fuchs M. Risk of injuries in snowboarding. Sportverletzung Sportschaden 1999;13:1-7 https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2007-993306
  11. Van Dommelen BA, Zvirbulis RA. Upper extremity injuries in snow skiers. Am J Sports Med 1989;17:751-4 https://doi.org/10.1177/036354658901700604
  12. Machold W, Kwasny O, Eisenhardt P. Reduction of severe wrist injuries in snowboarding by an optimized wrist protection device. J Trauma. 2002;52:517-20 https://doi.org/10.1097/00005373-200203000-00016
  13. Matsumoto K, Miyamoto K, Sumi H. Upper extremity injuries in snowboarding and skiing: a comparative study. Clin J Sport Med. 2002;12:354-9 https://doi.org/10.1097/00042752-200211000-00006
  14. Sasaki K, Takagi M, Kiyoshige. Snowboarder's wrist: its severity compared with alpine skiing. J Trauma 1999;46:1059-61 https://doi.org/10.1097/00005373-199906000-00015
  15. Ronning R, Ronning I, Gerner T, Engebretsen L. The efficacy of wrist protectors in preventing snowboarding injuries. Am J Sports Med 2001;29:581-5
  16. O'Neill DF. Wrist injuries in guarded versus unguarded first time snowboarders. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2003;409:91-5 https://doi.org/10.1097/01.blo.0000057785.10364.dc
  17. Howard PW, Stewart HD, Hind RE. External fixation or plaster for severely displaced comminuted Colles' fractures. a prospective study of anatomical and functional results. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 1989;71:68-73.s