Wrist guards should be compulsory for school-aged snowboarders. Research presentation ACRRM 5th...
-
Upload
chana-kinn -
Category
Documents
-
view
217 -
download
3
Transcript of Wrist guards should be compulsory for school-aged snowboarders. Research presentation ACRRM 5th...
Wrist guards should be compulsory for school-aged
snowboarders.
Research presentation ACRRM 5th Scientific
Forum
Dr Graham Slaney
Outline
• Background• Study objective• Study design• Results• Conclusion
Mt Buller Medical Centre
• Mt Buller - one of Australia’s busiest ski resorts
• 300 000 skier days per season on average
• Services all the local medical needs for Mt Buller in winter
• About 2500 patients per season• 100-120 wrist fractures per season• 2 doctors, 3 nurses, 1 radiographer• Ski patrol services ski slopes
Background - Wrist injuries
• Snowboarders have 2.4 times as many fractures as skiers1
• Upper limb injuries account for 50%2
• 56% of upper limb injuries are fractures3
• Wrist fractures alone account for nearly a fifth of all injuries in snowboarders
• Impact rather than torsional4
• Possibility of force transfer more proximate5
1. Bladdin (1993) 2. Young (1999) 3. Idzikowski (2000) 4. Pino (1989) 5. Hagel (2005)
Study Objective
To ascertain the association:• between wrist guard use and wrist
fracture in snowboarders in Australia
• between wearing wrist guards and the severity of wrist and elbow injury
Study design
• Case control study 2004 and 2005 ski seasons
• Cases - snowboarder seen at clinic with fractured wrist (n = 119)
• Controls - snowboarder seen at clinic for any reason other than fractured wrist (n = 375)
• Questionnaire about wrist guard use and snow sport behaviour
• Clinic staff recorded details of injury• Logistic regression used to determine adjusted odds ratios
Characteristics associated with Wrist
Fracture
Study Results - Wrist Fracture
• Adjusting for significant variables• Odds of having worn wrist guards lower in
snowboarders with wrist fracture (cases)• Adjusted OR = 0.58; 95% CI, 0.32–1.04;P = 0.07• Wearing wrist guards in Australia reduces wrist
fracture injury by about 42%
Study Results - Elbow Injury
15 elbow injuries amongst the 494 snowboarders
• 5 soft tissue– 4/86 wearing wrist guards– 1/391 not wearing wrist guards– adjusted OR, 17.6; P = 0.01
• 10 elbow fracture or dislocation– 3/86 wearing wrist guards– 7/391 not wearing wrist guards– adjusted OR, 1.84; P = 0.39
Wrist guards protective of overall injury severity
Conclusions
Snowboarders wearing wrist guards:• Elbows protected – important new finding• Reduce wrist fracture injury in Australia by
about 42%• Data consistent with international literature
(52% to 87%)6
• Novices strongly recommended• Mandatory for School-aged children
6. Russell (2007)
Acknowledgements
• Thanks to my supervisors Phil Weinstein & Judith Finn
• Thanks to the staff at the Mt Buller Medical Centre
• Thanks to the patients for participating in the study and completing the forms
• Thanks to my 15 year old daughter, Caitlin
References1. Bladin C, Giddings P, Robinson M. (1993) Australian
snowboard injury data base study. A four year prospective study. The American Journal of Sports Medicine 21(5) 701-704
2. Young CC, Niedfelt MW. (1999) Snowboarding injuries. American Family Physician 59(1):131-136.
• Idzikowski JR, Janes pc, Abbott PJ. (2000) Upper extremity snowboard injuries. Ten year results from the Colorado snowboard injury survey. The American Journal of Sports Medicine 28(6):825-32
• Pino EC, Colville MR. (1989) Snowboard injuries. The American Journal of Sports Medicine 17(6):778-781
• Hagel B, Pless IB, Goulet C. The effect of wrist guard use on upper-extremity injuries in snowboarders. Am J Epidemiol 2005; 162: 149-156.
• Russell K, Hagel B, Francescutti LH. The effect of wrist guards on wrist and arm injuries among snowboarders: a systematic review. Clin J Sport Med 2007; 17: 145-150.