GYMNAST’S WRIST: A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF DESCRIPTIVE EPIDEMIOLOGY, CLINICAL & RADIOLOGIC FEATURES, TREATMENT & OUTCOMES

Distal radial physeal stress syndrome, or ‘gymnast’s wrist’ (GW), refers to an overuse condition of the distal radial physis, resulting from repetitive compressive loading and shear forces on an extended wrist. As the distal radius (DR) bears nearly the entire axial load imparted on the extended wrist, the DR is at increased risk. Affected gymnasts often present with chronic wrist pain in the absence of discreet trauma. Physical examination will generally show tenderness to palpation along the DR physis and pain with hyperextension and axial loading. The condition, most commonly diagnosed radiographically, will include abnormalities at the DR such as widening distal radial physis and can lead to more debilitating conditions (e.g. distal physeal growth disturbance). Previous literature has been limited to small populations of elite level gymnasts. The primary aim of the current study was to assess a larger and more varied population of gymnasts at different ages and levels to better elucidate the descriptive epidemiology, presenting clinical and radiologic findings, treatment, and outcomes in a cohort treated at a tertiary care pediatric hospital over a 14 year period