gms | German Medical Science

14th Triennial Congress of the International Federation of Societies for Surgery of the Hand (IFSSH), 11th Triennial Congress of the International Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy (IFSHT)

17.06. - 21.06.2019, Berlin

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Hand injuries in sports – A retrospective analysis of 286 cases

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  • presenting/speaker Viola Stögner - Department of Plastic, Hand and Reconstructive Surgery, MHH, Hannover, Germany
  • Nicco Krezdorn - Department of Plastic, Hand and Reconstructive Surgery, MHH, Hannover, Germany
  • Peter Vogt - Department of Plastic, Hand and Reconstructive Surgery, MHH, Hannover, Germany

International Federation of Societies for Surgery of the Hand. International Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy. 14th Triennial Congress of the International Federation of Societies for Surgery of the Hand (IFSSH), 11th Triennial Congress of the International Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy (IFSHT), 11th Triennial Congress of the International Federation of Societies for Hand Therapy (IFSHT). Berlin, 17.-21.06.2019. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2020. DocIFSSH19-547

doi: 10.3205/19ifssh0627, urn:nbn:de:0183-19ifssh06271

Published: February 6, 2020

© 2020 Stögner et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. See license information at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Outline

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Objectives/Interrogation: Injuries of the hand account for 3 - 35% of all sport injuries. Hence, the hand is at high risk for injury during sportive activities. The current literature lacks systematic analyses of hand injuries in athletes in German speaking countries.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis (2013 -2018) of patients with sport-related injuries of the hand presenting in our department. Our hospital information system was analyzed using both specific search terms as well as ICD-10 codes. Data was further refinded by manual screening of full-text clinical reports.

Results: We identified a total of 286 eligible patients. Grouping for type of sport, soccer turned out to be the most common cause for hand injury (n=63; 22.02% of total), followed by equestrian sports (n=48, 16.78%) and handball (n=23; 8.04%). Most injuries occurred within the age group of 25 - 39 years (n=74; 26%), followed by 40 - 59 years (n=62; 22%). Overall male athletes (n=192; 67%) were affected more often than female athletes (n=94; 33%). Overall sport-related hand injuries was more frequently treated in an ambulant setting (n=203; 71%) than inpatient treatment (n=83; 29%). Equestrian sports accounted for the highest absolute hospitalization time (153 days, 34.3% of total, median of 4 days). We further identified differences in treatment strategy (surgical vs. conservative treatment). Types of injuries included fractures (34.3%), soft tissue injuries (25.5%), luxations, sprains and strains of joints and ligaments (17.7%), muscle and tendon injuries (8.1%), and amputation injuries (3,5%).

Conclusion: Hand injuries represent a high burden for the affected individual as well as to the health care system. Young males in prime working age seem to be at the highest risk for these kinds of injuries. Proper diagnosis and individualized treatment by trained hand surgeons are crucial to minimize long term impairments and disabilities. Knowledge of sport-specific injury patterns and their evidence-based treatment are mandatory in that regard.