Acute sporting injuries to the hand and wrist in the general population.

We report the incidence of acute sporting injuries to the hand and wrist in the general population that required management in the Orthopaedic department. During a four month period, we prospectively identified all sports related injuries, which were referred for continued management in the Orthopaedic department. Eight hundred and fifty-one sports injuries were identified. Of them 400 (47%) were to the hand and wrist. There were 304 (76%) males and 96 (24%) females with an average age of 24.6 years and 26.5 years respectively. Injuries comprised of 286 (71%) fractures, 88 (22%) soft tissue injuries, 16 (4%) dislocations and 10 (3%) miscellaneous injuries. Twenty-eight (7%) patients required hospital admission. Thirty-seven different sporting activities were identified, with most injuries occurring in popular, physically demanding sports, such as football and rugby. Approximately half of all sporting injuries sustained by the general population are to the hand or wrist. In the majority of cases outpatient management was sufficient.