Differences in patient and injury characteristics between sports- and non-sports related distal radius fractures

Abstract

IntroductionThe incidence of distal radius fractures (DRFs) is increasing as the number of people in recreational or sporting activities rises, due to a combination of increased leisure time and greater public awareness of the health-related benefits of sports. Despite the increases in sports-related distal radius fractures (SR-DRFs), there are limited studies regarding the characteristics of treatment and recovery. HypothesisThere are characteristics specific to SR-DRF treated with conservative or operative management. Material and methodsRetrospective review was carried out between January 2010 and December 2017. Overall, 1706 patients were included in the study analysis. Among them, 317 patients were injured during sports activity (18.6%) and 1389 were injured during non-sports activity (81.4%). Demographic data were compared between the two groups. The type of sports was investigated in SR-DRF. Also, we compared surgically treated DRF patients to describe differences in patient characteristics, fracture characteristics, and postoperative complications. ResultsThe mean age of patients with SR-DRFs was significantly younger (28 vs. 52 years). The proportion of men was also significantly higher in SR-DRF group compared to NSR-DRF group (62.8 vs. 33.8%). We identified 27 kinds of sports associated with DRFs and the 5 sports topping the list associated were soccer (22.7%), cycling (17.7%), snowboarding (11.0%), ice-skating (9.1%), and mountain hiking (9.1%). There was no difference in terms of the treatment method. However, SR-DRF group had higher proportion of AO/OTA type A fracture (32.6 vs. 13.7%), and NSR-DRF group had higher proportion of type C fracture (79.5 vs. 64.2%). Postoperative complications showed no significant differences, except higher implant removal rate in SR-DRF. DiscussionPatients with SR-DRF were significantly younger and had higher proportion of men. Proportion of AO/OTA type A was higher in SR-DRF group and proportion of AO/OTA type C was higher in NSR-DRF group. Proportion of surgical treatment was similar in two groups. Given the growing population participating in sports activity worldwide, SR-DRFs are predicted to increase and further study is required. Level of evidenceIII; retrospective, epidemiological study.