Incidence of overuse wrist injuries and wrist pain
| Study information | Study population | Outcomes | Incidence rates | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Author (year), country | Design | Data collection | Sample size (F, M) | Mean age in years (SD and/or range) | Type and level of sport | Overuse wrist injury definition and period of measurement | Results | Wrist pain | Overuse wrist injuries | Quality level |
| O'Kane et al20 (2011), USA | Cross-sectional | Questionnaire* | 96 (all F) | Not specified Level subgroups: Level 4, 9.0 (SD 1.6); level 5, 9.5 (SD 1.3); level 6, 10.8 (SD 2.2); levels 7–10, 13.1 (SD 1.8) | Gymnastics, of levels 4 (19), 5 (30), 6 (12) and 7–10 (35) | Wrist pain sustained within 10 months previous to survey, caused by gymnastics, lasting > 2 weeks, not resulting from acute injury | 7 overuse injuries of the wrist† | 7.3%‡ | – | Sufficient |
| Smoljanovic et al21 (2009),21 China | Cross-sectional | Questionnaire and interview§ | 398 (167 F, 231 M) | Median 18 (IQR 1) | Rowing, at Junior World Championships | Chronic, long-lasting wrist pain sustained during 12 months previous to survey, connected to sport activity, without specific inciting event | 36 overuse injuries of forearm/wrist (22 F, 14 M) | 9%‡ | – | Sufficient |
| Kirialanis22 (2002), Greece | Prospective cohort | Injury surveillance through semiweekly injury registration by orthopaedic surgeon, physiotherapist and trainer | 187 (87 F, 100 M)¶ | Not specified Age subgroups: F, 11.5 (SD 2.3), M, 13 (SD 3.2) | Artistic gymnastics, prenational team preparing for Olympic Games | Overuse wrist injury occurring within 12 months after start of study during games or practices that made athlete miss a subsequent game or practice session, graded ‘Minor’ (absence from training/games <1 week), ‘Moderate’ (absence 1 week to 1 month) or ‘Major’ (absence >1 month) | 3 participants with overuse syndrome of wrist/hand | – | 0.016%‡ | Sufficient |
| Caine et al23 (1989), USA | Prospective cohort | Interview, medical record, musculoskeletal screening by physical therapist, biweekly injury surveillance, training diary, verbal injury report by participant/coach, injury observation by primary investigator | 50 (all F) Dropout: 21 | 12.6 Dropout subgroups: non-dropouts, 12.1; dropouts, 13.3 | Gymnastics, of levels III (26), II (7), I (14) and elite (3) | Overuse wrist injury sustained within 12 months after start of study characterised by gradual onset, related to gymnastics, and resulting in participant missing portion of workout or competitive event | 13 gradual onset wrist injuries | – | 26%‡ | Good |
| Lindner and Caine24 (1990), Canada | Prospective cohort | Questionnaire completed by injured participants identified by coach, follow-up injury report 1 month after initial injury, background information** | 178 (all F) At start study: 161 Joined during study: 17†† Dropout: 97 | Not specified Level subgroups: 1, 9.78 (SD 1.75, range 7–15); 2, 10.62 (SD 1.54, range 8–14); 3, 11.93 (SD 1.58, range 9–14); 4, 11.29 (SD 0.91, range 10–12); National level, 12.78 (SD 1.44, range 10–15) | Gymnastics of provincial levels 1 (82), 2 (32), 3 (15), 4 (14), and National level (18) | Physical complaint of wrist with gradual onset, sustained within 3 years after start of study, related to gymnastics, characterised by inability to perform activity requiring use of wrist for longer than one day | 1 wrist injury of gradual onset | – | 0.6%‡ | Good |
*Participants underage of 12 years complete questionnaire with parental assistance.
†Number of cases not specified.
‡Incidence calculated from published data.
§Additional communication with non-English speaking participants by translators, team managers or team physicians.
¶Dropout rate not reported.
**Background information form completed by participant, if necessary with the help of a parent.
††Number of participants joined during study calculated from published data.
F, female; M, male; WP, wrist pain.