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Study: Upper extremity injuries in NASCAR are position-specific
However, changers and carriers experienced more tendinopathies.
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Throughout the course of the racing season, NASCAR drivers and pit crew members experience position-specific upper extremity injuries, according to study data.
“What we found was changers and carriers have an alarmingly high rate of tennis elbow,” R. Glenn Gaston, MD, chief of hand surgery at OrthoCarolina’s Hand Medical Center, told Orthopedics Today. “[Then] we found a few other [unique] injuries like carriers sustained a high rate of hamate hook fracture[s].”
He added, “The drivers have a surprisingly high rate of carpal tunnel and nerve-related problems from the vibration of the wheel. [Be] clinically aware that a driver who comes in and complains about his hand going numb has a high probability of having a nerve-related issue, such as carpal tunnel.”
Position-specific injuries
Gaston and his colleagues assessed 118 upper extremity injuries in NASCAR drivers and pit crew members between July 2003 and October 2014. All charts were reviewed to identify the diagnosis, mechanism of injury and position of each patient.
Of NASCAR pit crew members, 42% of injuries occurred in NASCAR changers and 14% of injuries occurred in carriers. Researchers found elbow tendinopathies (26%) such as lateral epicondylitis and triangular fibrocartilage complex tears (14%), were commonly occurring injuries among changers. The most common injuries among carriers included crush injuries (29%) and tendinopathies of the upper extremity (23%). Gaston noted carriers and changers demonstrated an incidence of hamate hook fractures.
The highest prevalence of tendinopathies was seen among fuel men (55%), though jack men (38%) and utility men (30%) also had a predominance of tendinopathies. Results showed 26% of drivers’ injuries were neuropathies, including carpal/cubital tunnel syndrome and digital neuromas. Upper extremity fractures, primarily distal radius fractures and scaphoid fractures, were the most commonly encountered injuries in NASCAR drivers at 32%.
“If you look at all the different studies on injuries in athletes in sports, you will see a large amount of publications in other areas and almost nothing on NASCAR,” Gaston, who is a hand consultant for multiple NASCAR teams, said. “[It] is great to have a paper out there looking at injury rates in these athletes and seeing what [injuries they are] sustaining.”
Decreasing the injury rate
According to Gaston, more research on specific protocols to prevent future injuries in upper and lower extremities in NASCAR drivers and pit crew members is warranted.
“[For] the carriers and changers, we are looking at year-round tennis elbow protocols to prevent that,” he said. “Another next step for OrthoCarolina might be to look at lower extremity injuries as well.” – by Casey Tingle
- Reference:
- Wertman G, at al. Orthop J Sports Med. 2016;doi:10.1177/2325967116629427.
- For more information:
- R. Glenn Gaston, MD, can be reached at OrthoCarolina Hand Center, 1915 Randolph Rd., Charlotte, NC 28207; email: glenn.gaston@orthocarolina.com.
Disclosure: Gaston reports no relevant financial disclosures.