Hand injuries more common during horse handling than riding

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Horse-associated hand injuries occur more frequently during horse handling than riding according to a new study.

 The most common injuries in equestrian sports involve the head, followed by injuries to the upper extremities and the thoracic and lumbar spine. Among hand injuries, riding a horse ranks third as a cause after ball sports and cycling.

A study conducted in Northern Germany by Benedikt Ritter and colleagues at the Department of Plastic, Aesthetic, Hand, and Reconstructive Surgery at Hannover Medical School examined the circumstances, mechanisms, and locations of horse-related hand injuries, as well as the use of protective equipment. The work is published in the Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery

This retrospective cohort study analysed records of patients admitted to the hand trauma centre. Complete records, including follow-up data, were available for 39 patients over a five-year period. The cohort included 35 females and 4 males, with ages ranging from 9 to 65 years. Only 7.7% of participants were professional riders, while 92.3% were amateur riders, some with equestrian training qualifications.

Data from clinical records and telephone interviews were analysed to investigate the mechanisms of trauma and injury patterns.

Key Findings:

• Over half of the injuries (21 cases) occurred while leading the horse, primarily due to traction forces exerted by bridles or lead ropes on the fingers.
• Falls accounted for 13 cases, and 5 cases resulted from bite injuries.
• The phalanges (fingers) were the most injured site (33 cases), followed by the metacarpal bones (hand) (4 cases) and the carpal bones (wrist) (2 cases).
• Fractures were present in over half (20) of cases.
• avulsion amputations occurred in nine (23.1%) of patients 
• Thirty one cases (79.5%) required surgical intervention.

The researchers note that, while horse-related injuries represent a small proportion of total emergency visits, they are disproportionately severe. They say that this emphasises the need for targeted preventive measures and specialised care to address the high rate of serious outcomes associated with these injuries.

They recommend wearing appropriate protective gloves to prevent hand injuries, as well as using self-opening panic hooks with overload protection to prevent excessive traction.

 

For more details, see: 

 

Ritter, B., Dastagir, N., Tamulevicius, M Bucher F, Obed D, Vogt PD, Dastagir K.

Equestrian-associated injuries of the hand: a retrospective analysis of injury mechanisms and patterns. 

Arch Orthop Trauma Surg (2024) 144, 4937–4945

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-024-05586-x