Injuries in alpine summer sports - types, frequency and prevention: a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION: Summer alpine sports, including mountain biking, hiking and airborne pursuits, have experienced a recent surge in popularity. Accordingly, trauma associated with these activities has increased. There is a scarcity of literature exploring clinical aspects surrounding injuries. Specifically, no single article provides a general overview, as individual studies tend to focus on one particular sport. In the present study, we performed a systematic literature review to summarize existing knowledge and explore the potential for prevention and clinical decision making in this group. METHOD: Literature searches were performed using the PubMed and Scopus database for the most commonly ventured sports associated with injury: mountain biking, climbing, airborne sports, paragliding, and base jumping. From this search, studies were identified for qualitative and quantitative analyses. These searches were done according to PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews. Studies were then analyzed regarding epidemiology of injuries, relevant anatomical considerations and prevention strategies were discussed. RESULTS: A broad spectrum of injury sites and mechanisms are seen in mountain biking, climbing or airborne sports. Mountain biking related injuries commonly involve the upper extremity, with fractures of the clavicle being the most common injury, followed by fractures of the hand and wrist. Scaphoid fractures remain of paramount importance in a differential diagnosis, given their often subtle clinical and radiological appearance. Paragliding, skydiving, and base jumping particularly affect transition areas of the spine, such as the thoracolumbar and the spinopelvic regions. Lower limb injuries were seen in equal frequency to spinal injuries. Regarding relative risk, mountain biking has the lowest risk for injuries, followed by climbing and airborne sports. Male alpinists are reported to be more susceptible to injuries than female alpinists. Generally, the literature surrounding hiking and water-related mountain sports is insufficient, and further work is required to elucidate injury mechanisms and effective preventative measures. A helmet seems to decrease the likelihood of face and head injuries in mountain sports and be a meaningful preventive measurement.

The use of the E-PASS scoring system in determining complication development in patients with isolated acetabular fractures.

BACKGROUND: The decision to treat acetabular fractures is occasionally deferred or foregone in patients perceived to be unfit for surgery. The previously validated estimation of physiologic ability and surgical stress (E-PASS) score has been shown to predict outcome in a variety of fractures, and consists of a preoperative risk score (PRS), a surgical stress score (SSS), and a comprehensive risk score (CRS). PURPOSE: To correlate E-PASS and its components with postoperative complication to quantify risk for individual surgical and patient factors in acetabular fracture management. METHODS: A retrospective review of patient records was performed for all patients with acetabular fractures surgically treated between January 2013 and June 2018 in a level 1 Trauma Centre. Patients with multiple injuries and/or malignancies were excluded. E-PASS scores were determined with standard demographic data and subscores were correlated with complication development. RESULTS: Of the included 106 patients (mean age 61 years, range 17-93), complications were reported in 37 (34.9%) patients and 3 (2.8%) died. Hospital postoperative morbidity and mortality rates increased significantly with the PRS and CRS. The SSS did not correlate significantly with frequency of complications. Age was found to be the only significant independent risk factor (p value = 0.031, OR = 1.03 per year of age). CONCLUSION: Latent patient factors have a clear influence on adverse outcomes in contrast to controllable factors such as surgical stress indicating an important role for perioperative care in reducing postoperative complications. Integrated orthogeriatric care with assessment of comorbidities, prevention or early recognition, and treatment of perioperative complications is essential.

Outcomes of Ultrasound-Guided Gastrocnemius Injection With Botulinum Toxin for Chronic Plantar Fasciitis.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to determine whether the injection of botulinum toxin A (BTA) in the medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle could yield improvements in function and disability in patients with chronic plantar fasciitis with follow-up 12 months after treatment. METHODS: Thirty-two patients with chronic plantar fasciitis were included in the study and randomly allocated to the BTA and placebo groups. The visual analog scale (VAS) and American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) scores were used to evaluate pain levels pre- and postinjection as well as function of the foot, respectively. Patients were also asked to rate their treatment satisfaction 1 year after injection. The range of dorsiflexion was measured before and 12 months after the injection. RESULTS: At the 12-month follow-up, the mean VAS decreased from 7.8 to 4 in the placebo group and from 8 to 0.33 in the BTA group. Furthermore, the mean AOFAS scores increased from 48.4 to 65.3 in the placebo group and from 45.5 to 90.6 in the BTA group. The postinjection scores in the BTA group were significantly higher than those in the placebo group (P < .001). Patient satisfaction in the BTA group was higher than that in the placebo group at the 12-month follow-up. CONCLUSION: In patients with chronic plantar fasciitis, the use of BTA had a positive effect on improvement in pain and foot function 1 year after treatment. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level I, prospective randomized controlled trial.

Spinal injury in alpine winter sports: a review.

INTRODUCTION: Alpine winter sports have become increasingly popular over recent decades, with a similar increase in accident incidence. This review provides an overview of the most recent literature concerning spinal injury epidemiology, mechanisms, patterns and prevention strategies in the context of alpine winter sports. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases were searched using the keywords spine injury, alpine injury, spine fracture, skiing injuries, snowboard injuries. 64 published studies in English and German met a priori inclusion criteria and were reviewed in detail by the authors. RESULTS: There are various mechanisms of injury in alpine winter sports (high speed falls in skiing, jumping failure in snowboarding) whilst regionality and injury severity are broadly similar. The thoracolumbar spine is the most common region for spinal injury. Spinal cord injury is relatively rare, usually accompanying distraction and rotation type fractures and is most commonly localised to the cervical spine. Disc injuries seem to occur more commonly in alpine winter sport athletes than in the general population. DISCUSSION: Despite awareness of increasing rates and risks of spinal injuries in alpine winter sports, there has been little success in injury prevention.