Elsevier

Injury

Volume 34, Issue 8, August 2003, Pages 561-563
Injury

Hurling-related hand injuries

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0020-1383(02)00050-5Get rights and content

Abstract

Hurling is a contact sport, associated with significant morbidity. We have identified specific hand injuries sustained by participants and quantified the functional and financial implications of these injuries. Over a 3-month period, all hand injuries seen in the fracture clinic of our regional trauma unit were studied prospectively. Of the 123 consecutive injuries, 41 (33%) were sustained during hurling matches. Metacarpal (47%) and proximal phalangeal (37%) fractures were the most frequent. Eight hurlers (20%) required surgical intervention. Only four (10%) of the injured players were wearing hand protection. The mean cost of injury to the player was £615. We suggest the introduction of the mandatory use of hand protection for hurling.

Introduction

Hurling is one of Ireland’s Gaelic games (Fig. 1), involving over 200,000 male and female players nationally [1]. It is a contact sport, known as “the clash of the ash”, which is contested by two teams of 15 players. Each hurler carries a metre long ash stick (hurl) to hit a hard leather ball (sliothar). Contact between an opponent’s stick and the body of a player holding the ball is, therefore, common. Historically, hand and facial trauma have predominated [2], [3], [4]. However, since the advent of the helmet, with the option of a supplementary faceguard, the incidence of facial trauma has decreased by as much as 50% [5].

Section snippets

Patients and methods

All patients attending Waterford Regional Hospital’s fracture clinic with hand injuries in a three month period were entered into the study. The anatomical location, fracture classification and the management of the injuries were recorded. Functional outcome was assessed by grip strength, the tip, key and palmar pinch [6], and by completing the Jebsen and Taylor test of hand function [7] at clinical review by one of the authors, 24 months after injury. Patients were asked to estimate loss of

Results

There were 123 hand injuries seen in the study period. Forty-one were sustained during hurling matches. Forty of the players were male, mean age 20 years (range 9–53 years). Injury to the dominant hand occurred in 23 cases (56%). Fractures of the bones of the hand accounted for 38 of the injuries, with two players suffering dislocations and one player sustaining a laceration of the nail bed.

Eighteen patients fractured a metacarpal and 14 fractured a proximal phalanx. The remaining six patients

Discussion

Hurling is a sport associated with a high incidence of hand injury. The most commonly injured rays in our study were the little finger and thumb usually at the level of the metacarpal or proximal phalanx. This has been attributed to foul play by some authors with rates as high as 41% being recorded [8]. However, in this series, each player was adamant that foul play was not a contributing factor in the mechanism of injury, when questioned specifically by the authors.

We demonstrated an alarming

References (9)

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (11)

  • Modification of hurling helmets causing penetrating upper limb injury: A case series demonstrating opportunity for improved player safety

    2022, Surgeon
    Citation Excerpt :

    Blake et al.5 demonstrated that almost 20% of injuries in competitive hurlers, over a 5 season period, affected the upper limbs. While the introduction of helmets led to a decrease in craniofacial injuries in this group,1,6 hand presentations remain common.12 The reasons for this, undoubtedly, relate to the intensely physical nature of hurling, the speed at which the ball is propelled using an unrestricted swing and the permission of contact with players.

  • Cost, profile, and postoperative resource use for surgically managed acute hand and wrist injuries with emergency department presentation

    2021, Journal of Hand Therapy
    Citation Excerpt :

    Our finding is that the most common mechanisms of injury—laceration (44.3%) followed by sport (24.3%)—may have implications for potential health promotion strategies for reducing preventable injuries. For example, awareness campaigns for the safe operation of power tools31,32 or protective equipment worn in sport33 may be best-targeted toward males aged between 25 and 34 years. To examine the effectiveness of such interventions, well-designed economic evaluations using a model such as the RE-AIM Framework,34 which assesses five dimensions (reach, efficacy, adoption, implementation, and maintenance) at multiple levels (individual, clinic, community), may be considered.

  • Hand injury costs

    2006, Injury
  • The fastest field sport in the world: A case report on 3-dimensional printed hurling gloves to help prevent injury

    2018, Journal of Hand Therapy
    Citation Excerpt :

    Of these, fractures to the fifth and first rays were most common with the highest incidence to the metacarpal, the proximal phalanx, and then the middle phalanx.13 This reflects similar patterns of injury in another study focusing on hand injuries in hurling.14 It has been commented that most hurling players do not wear gloves.13,14

  • Injuries in hurling and camogie: A review of incidence, management and prevention

    2014, Sports Injuries: Prevention, Management and Risk Factors
View all citing articles on Scopus

Presented at the British Trauma Society Meeting, Norfolk, September 2000.

View full text