CLIMBER’S HAND INJURIES

Rock climbing is a sport activity which solicited the fingers more than other any sport, leading to injuries typical for the rock climbers' hand. The biomechanical functioning of the finger is one of the most complicated problems of the human musculo-skeletal system. This paper describes the pathologies observed in rock climbing and the knowledge obtained thanks to biomechanical analysis for the evaluation and simulation for treatment and repair

Specificities of hand trauma in agriculture

Background/Aim. Hand injuries in agriculture are characterized by massive destruction of all tissues, frequent amputations of finger, hand and often the whole extremity. These injuries are mutilant and can cause death. The aim of this paper was to show the specificities of hand injuries in agriculture in regard to hand injuries of other etiology. Methods. We analyzed patients that were treated in the Department for Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Clinical Center Vojvodina, during a five-year period (2003-2007) because of hand injuries. Results. In a five-year period there were 366 patients hospitalized because of hand injuries, out of whom 36 injuries were related to agricultural machinery use. In both groups the number of patients trended to increased, with male gender being dominant. Most of the patients were young or middle-aged men. In agricultural injuries most of the patients were in the group of 41-50-year old (30%), while in the other group, the patients were younger (21-30-year old). Hand injuries in agriculture resulted in finger amputation in 92%, while in the other group that number was much smaller (13%). Skin defect reconstruction in agricultural injuries required complex methods of skin grafting or skin flaps in more than 71%, while this was necessary in only 10% of other hand injuries. Conclusion. Hand injuries in agriculture are very mutilant and often result in conquassation and finger amputation. A possibility to preserve tissue damaged in this way is very limited, and skin closer usually requires complex methods

Hand injuries

Autori iz Medicinskog centra u Vinkovcima analizirali su 722 bolesnika s otvorenim ozljedama šake. Bolesnici su razvrstani po dobnim skupinama i po spolu, a vrste ozljeda prikazane su brojčano i tabelarno. Zaključili su da je u cca 200 bolesnika ostao veći ili manji invaliditet. Predlažu mjere kojima bi se utjecalo na poboljšanje rezultata i skraćenje vremena liječenja.Seven hundred and twenty two open hand traumatized patients have been analyzed. Patients have been grouped with respect to age and sex. A variety of lesions are presented numerically, as well as in tabular form. The authors concluded that about two hundred of such patients are handicaped forever, in major or minor ways. Measures are suggested to achieve better results and shorten the time of treatment

Causes And Pattern Of Unilateral Hand Injuries

Objective: To assess the causes and pattern of hand injuries in patients with isolated unilateral acute hand injuries managed at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH). Design: A prospective cross-sectional descriptive study. Setting: Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya, between May and August 2006. Subjects: All patients with isolated unilateral acute hand injuries who presented at the casualty department. Results: A total of 99 patients were recruited. The mean age was 28.2 years with the modal age being 21-30 years. More males were injured than females. Occupational injuries and assaults were the most prevalent causes of hand injury. Majority of the injuries included lacerations, fractures and tendon injuries. The distal phalanges of the ring and long fingers were the most common sites of injury on the digits. Conclusion: Occupational hand injuries, a largely preventable problem, are the most prevalent cause of hand injury. This offers opportunity for strategies in preventing a large number of hand injuries by initiating safety measures at the work place. East African Medical Journal Vol. 85 (3) 2008: pp. 123-12

Epidemiology of occupational hand injury in Hong Kong

OBJECTIVES: To study the epidemiology of occupational hand injuries and associated social and industrial factors. DESIGN. For this retrospective case series of patients with occupational hand injuries, case records were retrieved to gather data. In addition, all the subjects were interviewed by a single interviewer using a predesigned questionnaire. SETTING: Division of Hand Surgery, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong. PATIENTS: A total of 250 patients with occupational hand injuries were treated during the period from 1999 to 2001. This period was chosen to obtain 10 years of follow-up data to assess return to work and any secondary injuries. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Personal particulars (gender, age, marital status, education level, length of stay in Hong Kong, type of employment, wage system, personal habits, family size, number of breadwinners, income), type of industry and mode of injury, causes of injury according to the worker, work conditions, type of injury, and treatment given. RESULTS: Two groups of workers in our study had more occupational hand injuries, namely those with less than 1 year of experience on a new job and immigrants from China. Factors associated with a large proportion of occupational hand injuries were male gender with personal risk factors (smoking and regular consumption of alcohol, long working hours), and in the case of machine operators, inadequate training and use of safety devices. CONCLUSION: Occupational hand injuries lead to loss of working hours and compensation. For prevention, the workplace should be made into a safer and work-friendly environment. Workers should also have sufficient training.published_or_final_versio

Epidemiology of occupational hand injury in Hong Kong

OBJECTIVES: To study the epidemiology of occupational hand injuries and associated social and industrial factors. DESIGN. For this retrospective case series of patients with occupational hand injuries, case records were retrieved to gather data. In addition, all the subjects were interviewed by a single interviewer using a predesigned questionnaire. SETTING: Division of Hand Surgery, Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong. PATIENTS: A total of 250 patients with occupational hand injuries were treated during the period from 1999 to 2001. This period was chosen to obtain 10 years of follow-up data to assess return to work and any secondary injuries. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Personal particulars (gender, age, marital status, education level, length of stay in Hong Kong, type of employment, wage system, personal habits, family size, number of breadwinners, income), type of industry and mode of injury, causes of injury according to the worker, work conditions, type of injury, and treatment given. RESULTS: Two groups of workers in our study had more occupational hand injuries, namely those with less than 1 year of experience on a new job and immigrants from China. Factors associated with a large proportion of occupational hand injuries were male gender with personal risk factors (smoking and regular consumption of alcohol, long working hours), and in the case of machine operators, inadequate training and use of safety devices. CONCLUSION: Occupational hand injuries lead to loss of working hours and compensation. For prevention, the workplace should be made into a safer and work-friendly environment. Workers should also have sufficient training.published_or_final_versio

Wrist and Hand Injuries in the Athlete

Athletes subject themselves to considerable disability. No matter the sport, the hand and upper extremity are among the most commonly injured sites. Frequently, the most debilitating complications of these conditions are the result of misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis. Unfortunately, many patients with these delayed and misdiagnosis injuries need to be treated with surgical procedures. To compound the dilemma in treating hand and wrist injuries in this population, one needs to appreciate the athletic personality and the mentality that wishes to dismiss hand injuries as minor. It is essential to educate athletes by clearly communicating the risks and complications inherent to these injuries and the applicable therapy. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss the anatomy, mechanism of injury, diagnosis, and treatment of common athletic injuries as it relates to the fingers, wrist, and hand. Appreciation of the anatomy and mechanism of injury is extremely helpful in diagnosing the pathology. Early and accurate diagnosis minimizes the delayed problems of pain and dysfunction in hand injuries. As with any other sport injury the primary goal is to return the athlete to full participation as soon as possible without risking further injury or permanent disability. Common sense management of the injury is presented in regards to acute treatment, protective splinting and surgical intervention. Specific rehabilitation exercises are outlined at the end of the chapter to avoid repetition, since many of the same exercises are used in the various rehabilitation regimens described

Programmable Gesture Manipulator for Hand Injuries Rehabilitation

This paper presents a device for hand injury rehabilitation. It allows recognition of different gestures made by a patient and measures such important healing rating as gesture amplitude, movement speed and motion trajectory accuracy. For use with children's rehabilitation it is implemented an ability to control different external devices with different gestures that could be set by using developed software

Taking hold of hand trauma in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Background: Trauma in KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa constitutes at least 17.8% of overall emergency cases, with hand trauma being common. Aim: Based on these statistics, the authors of this study aimed to identify and describe the most common traumatic hand injuries managed in the province including current trends and intervention practices of occupational therapists to inform future intervention. Methods: Using a mixed-method convergent parallel design, 41 therapists completed an online survey, and 12 therapists participated in two focus group discussions. Survey responses were analysed using descriptive statistics, and the audio-recorded and transcribed focus group discussions were analysed deductively using thematic analysis.Findings: Flexor tendon injuries (88%), extensor tendon injuries (73%), fractures (83%) and combined hand injuries (73%) were the most common injuries noted. Sufficient theoretical knowledge (95%), clinical judgement (93%), available resources (88%), relevant practical experience (83%) and surgeon hand therapy protocols (88%) were identified as essential in managing traumatic hand injuries. Challenges included having limited resources, late referrals and poor communication hindering multidisciplinary practice. Conclusion: Therapists face challenges in managing traumatic hand injuries, which inhibits optimal intervention planning. These factors may inevitably negatively influence outcomes achieved through occupational therapy for this group of patients. Keywords: Occupational therapy; traumatic hand injuries; hand rehabilitation