TY - JOUR
T1 - Do wrist guards protect against fractures?
AU - Lewis, L. M.
AU - West, O. C.
AU - Standeven, J.
AU - Jarvis, H. E.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funded in part by a grant from the Missouri chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians.
PY - 1997
Y1 - 1997
N2 - Study objective: To determine whether wrist guards increase the fracture threshold for wrist and forearm fractures. Methods: We conducted a controlled, blinded experimental study using matched cadaveric arms-one fitted with a wrist guard-dropped with the use of a device designed to simulate a fall. We measured the mean number of drops before the occurrence of fracture, mean height and velocity change to fracture, mean kinetic energy, mean peak acceleration (in Gs), and summed impulse [weight (kilograms) x Δ velocity (meters/second)] to fracture with and without wrist guards. Fracture severity was compared with the use of an ordinal ranking system and analyzed with the Mann-Whitney rank-sum test. Results: Wrist guards were associated with a statistically significant increase in the number of drops, mean drop height, mean kinetic energy, and summed impulse required to cause a fracture. Fractures also tended to be less severe when wrist guards were used. Conclusion: The biomechanical evidence of a protective effect of wrist guards against wrist fractures seen in this study, coupled with previous epidemiologic evidence, is strong enough to warrant pediatricians, family practitioners, and emergency physicians to counsel skaters to use these devices when using roller skates, skateboards, or in- line skates.
AB - Study objective: To determine whether wrist guards increase the fracture threshold for wrist and forearm fractures. Methods: We conducted a controlled, blinded experimental study using matched cadaveric arms-one fitted with a wrist guard-dropped with the use of a device designed to simulate a fall. We measured the mean number of drops before the occurrence of fracture, mean height and velocity change to fracture, mean kinetic energy, mean peak acceleration (in Gs), and summed impulse [weight (kilograms) x Δ velocity (meters/second)] to fracture with and without wrist guards. Fracture severity was compared with the use of an ordinal ranking system and analyzed with the Mann-Whitney rank-sum test. Results: Wrist guards were associated with a statistically significant increase in the number of drops, mean drop height, mean kinetic energy, and summed impulse required to cause a fracture. Fractures also tended to be less severe when wrist guards were used. Conclusion: The biomechanical evidence of a protective effect of wrist guards against wrist fractures seen in this study, coupled with previous epidemiologic evidence, is strong enough to warrant pediatricians, family practitioners, and emergency physicians to counsel skaters to use these devices when using roller skates, skateboards, or in- line skates.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0031007086&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/S0196-0644(97)70198-7
DO - 10.1016/S0196-0644(97)70198-7
M3 - Article
C2 - 9174522
AN - SCOPUS:0031007086
SN - 0196-0644
VL - 29
SP - 766
EP - 769
JO - Annals of emergency medicine
JF - Annals of emergency medicine
IS - 6
ER -