Background: Radiocarpal dislocations are rare injuries that result from high-energy forces across the wrist with the hallmark finding of radiocarpal ligament disruption. Published treatment methods are comprehensive with moderate-to-good outcomes. The purpose of this study was to review the treatment of radiocarpal dislocations with a dorsal wrist spanning plate. Methods: A retrospective review was conducted analyzing the radiographic and clinical outcomes of patients treated for a radiocarpal dislocation using a dorsal wrist spanning plate over a 10-year period. Outcomes assessed included radiographic joint incongruity and arthrosis, wrist range of motion, grip strength, Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score, surgical complications, and Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) score. Results: Thirteen patients were treated with a dorsal wrist spanning plate for radiocarpal dislocation with a mean follow-up of 615 days from the time of initial surgery. Six patients (46%) had associated distal radioulnar joint instability. The mean wrist range of motion at the final follow-up was: flexion 39°, extension 44°, pronation 79°, and supination 84°. One patient (8%) developed ulnar translation of the carpus, and 11 patients (85%) developed radiographic posttraumatic wrist arthrosis. Mean VAS and DASH scores were 4 and 18, respectively. Conclusions: Acute treatment with a dorsal wrist spanning plate in this series resulted in comparable outcomes to what have been previously reported in the literature. The dorsal wrist spanning plate offers the surgeon a reliable method of stabilization, with minimal additional surgical trauma to the wrist, while avoiding the potential for infections that develop with other treatment methods.
Background:
The primary purpose of this study was to compare the number of pitches thrown by youth baseball players under the official league guidelines versus the number of “high-effort” throws recorded by a validated digital sensor worn by the players during a season.
Methods:
In total, 11 and 12-year-old youth baseball players from a single league were provided an elbow sleeve and sensor to wear each time they threw a baseball for an entire baseball season. The sensor tracked total throws and pitch-equivalent high-effort throws for the season. Official pitch counts were collected at each game from the official scorekeepers.
Results:
A total of 19 players participated in the study. The sensor-determined mean total throw count (1666.2±642.2) and mean high-effort throw count (576.9±329.3) per player were both significantly higher, P<0.0001 and P=0.02, respectively, than the mean official pitch count (168.1±122.4).
Conclusions:
Our findings demonstrate that youth players make significantly more total throws and high-effort, or pitch-equivalent, throws, than what is recorded by the official pitch counts. Further research is needed to determine a safe annual “throw count” for young throwing athletes and to determine which types of throws, in addition to pitches, put youth throwers at risk for injury.
Level of Evidence:
Level IV.
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