Injuries associated with arm wrestling: A narrative review

Abstract

Objective: Arm wrestling is common sport amongst amateur enthusiasts. Multiple injuries are described as a result of the sport. The authors present a narrative review of the common injuries associated with the sport. Design: Systematic review with a critical appraisal of the literature and a narrative review of the injuries associated with arm wrestling. Data sources: Seven electronic databases were systematically searched using medical subject headings (MeSH) terms as follows. Arm wrestling, Indian Wrestling, Fractures, Injury, Ligament Injury with Boolean search terms "AND". An extensive review of orthopaedic textbooks was also performed. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies: Inclusion criteria were publications which included patients who suffered bony or soft tissue injuries as a result of arm wrestling published in English language. Results: A total of 152 patients was seen across all studies. Spiral fractures of the distal third of the humerus are by far the most common injury reported in the setting of arm wrestling. The humerus fails due torsional and bending stresses. 23% were complicated by medial butterfly fragment and the incidence of radial nerve palsy was 23%. Fracture patterns differ in the skeletally immature arm wrestler, who show an increased incidence of medial humeral epicondyle fractures. We also report on the atypical fracture and soft tissue injury patterns that present.

Medial Epicondyle Fracture in Children and Its Association with Increased Carrying Angle

“…This muscle avulsion force can occur in combination with valgus stress in which the elbow is locked in extension, or as a pure muscular contraction that may occur with the elbow partially flexed. Avulsion during arm wrestling typically occurs due to sudden increased tension in the flexor-pronator group of muscles and subsequent avulsion of the medial humeral epicondyle [ 12 – 14 ]. Traction by violent contraction of flexors in the presence of mechanical imbalance is responsible for fracture-separation of the medial humeral epicondyle caused by arm wrestling [ 12 ].…”

Spiral Humeral Fracture During Arm Wrestling: A Case Report and Literature Review

“…In a study, in 23% of the cases, a medial butterfly fragment and radial nerve palsy were both discovered. The skeletally immature arm-wrestler has an increased frequency of medial humeral epicondyle fractures, which differs from the skeletally mature arm-wrestler [ 4 ].…”

Clinical Characteristics, Mechanism, and Outcome of Humeral Shaft Fractures Sustained during Arm Wrestling in Young Men: A Retrospective Study

“…However, this sport is not as harmless and safe as one might think. Several publications have reported arm wrestling injuries, including humeral shaft fractures with or without wedge fragments, avulsion fractures of the medial epicondyle, and radial nerve palsy, 2 with humeral shaft fractures accounting for the largest proportion 3 . Generally, arm‐wrestling fractures are more common than previously believed and represent the leading cause (52.8%) of humeral fractures in certain populations, such as young soldiers engaging in the sport 4 .…”