Spine fractures caused by horse riding

Case Reports in Orthopedics, 2013

We report three cases of a rare pattern of mid-thoracic spine injuries after horse racing falls and discuss possible causative factors and prevention measurements to reduce injury rates in professional riding and racing. Three patients, 2 male and 1 female with a mean age of 28 years old, underwent surgical treatment for mid-thoracic fractures after professional equestrian activities. The ASIA scale was E in one patient, B in the other one and A in the third. Multilevel posterior fusion was used in two patients and somatectomy plus fusion in the other. Follow up evaluation included changing of the ASIA scale, functional outcome and participation in equestrian activities. One patient fully recovered after surgery. Two patients remained paraplegic despite early surgical treatment and prolonged rehabilitation therapy. All patients had ended their professional equestrian career. This report analyzes possible mechanisms of injury and the pattern of mid-thoracic spine fractures after professional horse riding injuries. Despite skill improvements and continued safety education for horse riding, prophylactic measures for both the head and the spine should be refined. According to our study, additional mid-thoracic spinal protection should be added.

Clinical Sciences Research and Reports, 2019

Horse-related athletic, recreational and professional activities is a worldwide widespread practice involving people of all ages. This kind of activity, due to the particular risks involved, is associated with a significant number of accidents and injuries of the musculoskeletal system. Spine injuries (SI) and spinal cord injuries (SCI) are serious injuries that can have devastating consequences for the rider. In the present review, we examined their epidemiology, their characteristics in terms of the mechanism and type of injury, the neurological damage they cause and the injured region of the spine. The type of the therapeutic approach and its results were also analyzed. 19 papers that included 7.569 patients, 632 (8.3%) of whom suffered spine or spinal cord injuries, were analyzed. A total of 1.072 injuries were analyzed, 56 % of which concerned men and 44% women. The fall from a horse is considered to be the main mechanism that causes injuries associated with fractures of the thoracic and lumbar spine. 58% of the patients with such injuries were hospitalized. There was a complete neurological damage in 31.8% of the patients, while in a significant proportion of 53.5% of the patients; quadriplegia was caused by the injury. Although conservative treatment in simple cases without neurological damage appears to be an effective therapeutic approach, in cases of unstable injuries and neurological impairment surgical treatment can be a method of choice with satisfactory results such as better mobilization and quality of life.

Journal of Education, Health and Sport

Horse riding (equestrianism) is a very old form of physical activity, and today it has become a very popular sport and recreation. Similarly to other sports, equestrianism carries potential risk of injuries, most often caused by a fall from a horse back. Horse riding can cause spine and brain injuries, which are treated by neurosurgeons. Both brain and spine injuries can potentially be life - threatening or cause severe disability. In our neurosurgical center, horse - related injuries accounted for 7.69% of all sports - related injuries. We treated 4 girls in total: 3 with spinal injuries, 1 with brain injuries. Girls with spine injuries were treated conservatively, and girls with brain injuries - surgically. All patients had good prognosis. We have reviewed the literature about horse - related trauma. Literature showed that they occurred more often in young age patients and mainly in girls, which was consistent with our observations. Numerous authors emphasized the protecting role ...

The MOET Course Manual, 2009

Horse-related athletic, recreational and professional activities is a worldwide widespread practice involving people of all ages. This kind of activity, due to the particular risks involved, is associated with a significant number of accidents and injuries of the musculoskeletal system. Spine injuries (SI) and spinal cord injuries (SCI) are serious injuries that can have devastating consequences for the rider. In the present review, we examined their epidemiology, their characteristics in terms of the mechanism and type of injury, the neurological damage they cause and the injured region of the spine. The type of the therapeutic approach and its results were also analyzed. 19 papers that included 7.569 patients, 632 (8.3%) of whom suffered spine or spinal cord injuries, were analyzed. A total of 1.072 injuries were analyzed, 56 % of which concerned men and 44% women. The fall from a horse is considered to be the main mechanism that causes injuries associated with fractures of the thoracic and lumbar spine. 58% of the patients with such injuries were hospitalized. There was a complete neurological damage in 31.8% of the patients, while in a significant proportion of 53.5% of the patients; quadriplegia was caused by the injury. Although conservative treatment in simple cases without neurological damage appears to be an effective therapeutic approach, in cases of unstable injuries and neurological impairment surgical treatment can be a method of choice with satisfactory results such as better mobilization and quality of life.

Research Square (Research Square), 2024

Background: Equestrian sports are practiced all over the world and are a popular leisure activity in Sweden. Equestrianism is the country's second-largest youth sport. Previous studies indicate that equestrianism is accident-prone. However, few previous studies have examined acute equestrian injuries leading to permanent medical impairment. Methods: By using nationwide insurance data including all injured equestrian registered in the Swedish Equestrian Federation, the objective was to examine acute injuries. The injury incidence and injuries leading to permanent medical impairment were examined. All equestrians injured during 2017-2021 were included (n=6876). Injury incidence was calculated separately for males and females as well as for different age groups by dividing the number of insurance claims by the number of members and multiplying by 1000. Risk Ration was calculated between gender. Pearson's chi-squared test was used to analyse differences in distributions for categorical variables. Results: The majority of injuries affected females, correlating with an almost three times higher risk compared to males. Those aged 21-40 years were associated with the highest injury risk (14.26/1000 registered riders). In total twelve percent of all injuries led to permanent medical impairment. Injuries to the upper and lower extremities, along with fractures, had a higher risk of resulting in an impairment. Conclusions: The predominant injuries resulting in permanent medical impairment were arm and leg injuries, but to prevent the most serious injuries that signi cantly affect the rider's daily life, efforts to prevent head and spinal cord neck injuries should be implemented. Head injures remain the most frequent, serious and the most important injuries to prevent and mitigate within equestrian sports.

BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine

Background/aimHorse riding is a popular sport, which bears the risk of serious injuries. This study aims to assess whether individual factors influence the risk to sustain major injuries.MethodsRetrospective data were collected from all equine-related accidents at a German Level I Trauma Centre between 2004 and 2014. Logistic regression was used to identify the risk factors for major injures.Results770 patients were included (87.9% females). Falling off the horse (67.7%) and being kicked by the horse (16.5%) were the two main injury mechanisms. Men and individuals of higher age showed higher odds for all tested parameters of serious injury. Patients falling off a horse had higher odds for being treated as inpatients, whereas patients who were kicked had higher odds for a surgical therapy (OR 1.7) and intensive care unit/intermediate care unit (ICU/IMC) treatment (OR 1.2). The head was the body region most often injured (32.6%) and operated (32.9%). Patients with head injuries had th...

Comparative Exercise Physiology, 2021

Currently, no standardised screening tools nor established interventions are available to address the characteristics of back pain (BP) specifically in horse riders. Therefore, the aim of this case-control study is to explore sport-specific and functional characteristics of BP in horse riders. 16 professional and 16 amateur riders (25±7 years) participated in two questionnaires (a sport-specific questionnaire and the Oswestry Disability Index questionnaire) and were examined via the physical functional movement screening (FMS) and Luomajoki’s motor control (MC) screening. The lifetime prevalence of BP was as high as 81%, and spinal discomfort in horse riders was mainly located in the lumbar spine. Professional riders revealed significantly higher prevalence of BP in the last month before assessment (P=0.014) than amateur riders. Compared to horse riders using dressage or multiple saddle types, show jumping riders (n=10) who only use jumping saddles (P=0.027) also revealed higher BP ...

Equine Veterinary Journal, 1980

The survey comprised 443 horses, referred to the clinical department of the Equine Research Station, with a history of a thoracolumbar (TL) complaint. A wide range of lesions were capable of producing back problems and more than one condition or site of injury was found in 75 animals (17 per cent). There were 103 horses (19.7 per cent) with no evidence of damage to the TL spine or its associated structures. In 66 of these cases, clinical signs were attributed to a variety of hindlimb lamenesses and, in 37, no specific diagnosis could be made. Soft tissue injury was diagnosed in 203 cases (38.8 per cent), the most frequent sites being the longissimus dorsi muscles and/or the supraspinous ligament in the caudal withers and cranial lumbar regions. Chronic sacroiliac strain or mild sacroiliac instability was also a frequent cause of low back trouble in competitive horses. Other conditions included tying-up, subluxation of a lumbar vertebra and neuritis of the cauda equina. Fifteen cases (2.9 per cent) of vertebral malformations were found including scoliosis, lordosis and kyphosis. Vertebral lesions accounted for 202 (38.6 per cent) of the diagnoses. The most common condition was associated with crowding and overriding of the dorsal spinous processes in the caudal thoracic and cranial lumbar regions. This was most often diagnosed in competitive jumping horses (173 cases) and caused a loss of suppleness and spinal flexibility resulting in lowered performance and bouts of back pain. There was a comparatively low incidence of fractures (13 cases) and degenerative spondylosis (14 cases).

The Canadian veterinary journal. La revue vétérinaire canadienne, 2011

We describe a fatal case, in which a horse suffered a fall and as a consequence, rib fractures. Diagnosis was made postmortem and the horse died without showing clear signs of respiratory dysfunction. The retrospective reports of injuries can be important to reduce these traumatic events and to avoid fatalities.

The Surgeon, 2017

Introduction: Cycling has seen a large increase in popularity worldwide over the last number of years. This has been linked to an increase in the number of road traffic accidents involving cyclists. Participation in cycling as part of competitive sport and endurance events has seen particular growth. Aim: To examine patients referred with spinal trauma related to cycling and to assess whether the growing popularity of cycling and particularly competitive cycling is linked to an increase in spinal trauma. Methods: A retrospective analysis was carried out of a prospectively maintained database of referrals to a national referral centre for spinal trauma over a 4-year period (2010e2013). Data were further analysed for years 2012e2013, as there were incomplete data for years 2010e2011. Results: Spinal injuries involving cyclists increased by 200% from 2010 to 2013. In comparison those involving cars only increased by 29% and motorcycles reduced by 68%. From 2012 to 2013 there were 24 cyclist trauma referrals. The most common level injured was cervical spine (71%). Five patients (20.8%) had neurological deficit with 12.5% complete paralysis ASIA A disability score. The spinal fixation rate was 29.1%, 16.6% were managed with a HALO device. In total, 25% of patients were injured whilst training on a racer style bicycle, including all of the patients with complete spinal cord injury. Conclusion: There has been a significant increase in spinal trauma due to cycling accidents over this four year period. Competitive cycling has been a factor in the most severely injured patients. Increased public awareness campaigns for those participating in cycling for sport may be warranted.