The most common lesions of upper and lower limbs in children and adolescents

Wojciech Rusek
Teresa Pop
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Sabina Jarochowicz
Ewa Cieplińska
Joanna Glista
Institute of Physiotherapy, University of Rzeszow, Poland
Instytut Fizjoterapii Wydziału Medycznego Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego, Rzeszów, Polska
Z Instytutu Fizjoterapii Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego
Z Instytutu Fizjoterapii Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego
Z Instytutu Fizjoterapii Uniwersytetu Rzeszowskiego

Abstract

Introduction: Traumatic lesions of upper and lower limbs occur frequently in children, and have become recognized worldwide and also more frequently in Poland as a serious health, social and economical problem. It is vital to recognize the specificity of bone fractures in the aspect of clinical significance, mainly in relation to treatment and rehabilitation, which results from distinctive pathophysiology of child’s bone.

Aim: To present a current and comprehensive epidemiology of most frequent injuries of upper and lower limbs in children and adolescents.

Material and methods: A total of all 444 children (29 girls and 315 boys) that were admitted for hospital treatment as a result of upper and/or lower limb injury in 2007 were included into our study. Data were gathered from patients’ discharge summaries of the Paediatric Orthopaedics and Traumatolology Department with Early Rehabilitation of Childhood Motor System.

Results: Based on our analyses of we estimated that most prevalent injuries of upper and lower limbs were fractures (95.3%), were most frequently sustained by children between 11 and 14 yrs of age (30.5%), significantly more often affects boys than girls (72% vs 28%), more frequently applied to upper than lower limbs (75% vs 25%). Injuries were most often sustained during spring (upper limb) and summer season (lower limb). Most common traumas included distal humerus and femoral shaft fractures.

Conclusions:

1. In studied group of children the risk of injury showed tendency to be dependent on age, gender and season of the year.

2. There is a need for concentrating parents, carers and teachers attention (including PE teachers and sport coaches) especially during spring and summer time towards ensuring more organized and safe forms of plays, games and sports always under supervision of adults, and also to shape appropriate motor and sport behaviors.

3. Diversity and specificity of injuries in children constitutes a challenging medical and rehabilitation problem and requires adequately specialist knowledge and skills, including physiotherapy

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