Knowledge
Medical Insight: Polodoc
Dr.med. Andreas Krüger is a Swiss board orthopaedic and trauma surgeon in Zurich, who specialises in knee and shoulder surgery. Andi is a second generation of tournament doctors for equine sports, known as Polodoc since 2013
Photograph by The Art of Polo
Protective gear, such as carbon-enforced gloves, are available
The Polo Hand
The player’s hand is one of the most exposed and fragile parts of the body. At the same time it’s also the most important part of the body for handling the stick and steering the horse. Riding as the cause of hand injuries is overall third place after ball sports and cycling. A little impact is enough to change function in regard to grip strength and the free range of motion. But not only external impact can be detrimental. Bones can experience wear and tear at the joints, which can make our joints painful and inflamed. This is what we call degenerative changes (osteoarthritis). These changes can occur from years of use, or can come on a little earlier if you have had a previous injury that alters the way your joints might move. The other structures in the body that can deteriorate over time are our ligaments. This is commonly seen in the wrist with people who have been involved in lots of manual heavy work over years. If the ligaments deteriorate they are often not then doing a great job at supporting your joints, and this can cause significant pain. Common places for degenerative changes to occur for horse riders are the thumb and index finger. Getting thorough assessment is the first place to start, to work out the cause of your pain and plan a solution to get you back to pain free use.
Diagnostics
Deep, clinical analysis of the impaired function of the hand by a medical professional (orthopaedic or hand surgeon) is crucial. Little injuries from a pull by the reins or impact by ball or stick can leave their marks. An overview can be achieved with a hand X-ray performed from at least two directions. Fractures can be precisely diagnosed using Computer tomography (CT), where thin slices of different directions of the bone can be generated. Soft tissue pathologies or injuries (ligaments, cartilage, deposit diseases) can better be detected in MRI (magnet resonance imaging) or high resolution ultra-sound (functional analysis).
Fracture, rupture, degeneration
Photography by Polodoc
Hand injuries are common in equine sports
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Polo Times, March 2022
Typical polyarthritis x-ray in proximal and distal finger joints
Gout arthritis with deposit around the joint, Black arrow
www.polotimes.co.uk
