Common types and treatment of elbow injuries in skiing or snowboarding / 中华创伤骨科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the common types of elbow joint injuries in skiing or snowboarding and their treatment.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the data of 90 patients with elbow injury caused by skiing or snowboarding who had been admitted to Department of Upper Limbs, Sichuan Orthopaedic Hospital from February, 2015 to February, 2022. There were 53 males and 37 females with an age of (31.8±8.4) years. The types of elbow injury, visual analogue scale (VAS), range of motion (ROM) of the elbow and Mayo elbow performance score (MEPS) of the patients were recorded before treatment and at the last follow-up.Results:Of the patients, 18 were treated conservatively (3 simple Mason type I radial head fractures and 15 O'Driscoll type I coronal process fractures) and 72 surgically. Their follow-up time was (31.3±18.7) months. The fractures all healed by the time of the last follow-up. Simple elbow fracture was observed in 63 patients, simple elbow dislocation in 2 patients, fracture plus dislocation in 25 patients. The posterior dislocation was the most common (22 cases). Among the elbow fractures, radial head fracture occurred in 27 patients, ulnar coronoid process fracture in 41 patients, proximal ulnar fracture in 13 patients, and distal humeral fracture in 28 patients. Collateral ligament injuries were complicated in 65 cases. In the patients undergoing conservative treatment, their VAS, elbow ROM, and MEPS were all improved significantly from 4.7±1.4, 92.2°±14.4° and 63.9±6.5 before treatment to 0.4 (0,1.0), 110.6°±0.6°, and 92.2±3.9 at the last follow-up ( P<0.05); in the patients undergoing surgical treatment, their VAS, elbow ROM, and MEPS were also all improved significantly from 5.6±1.7, 24.3°±18.4°, and 26.9±12.2 before surgery to 0.6 (0,1.0), 97.4°±14.0° and 86.6±7.1 at the last follow-up ( P<0.05). After surgery, 8 patients presented with neurological symptoms and 7 patients developed heterotopic ossification. Conclusions:In skiing or snowboarding, the coronoid process of the ulna is the most vulnerable to fracture. In the elbow injuries due to skiing or snowboarding, posterior dislocation is the most common type which is often accompanied by injuries to the medial and lateral collateral ligaments. For simple Mason type Ⅰ radial head fractures and O'-Driscoll type Ⅰ coronoid process fractures in which the elbow is stable, conservative treatment can be adopted; surgical treatment is indicated for the other injuries.