The importance of proper shoe gear and safety stirrups in the prevention of equestrian foot injuries.

This study investigates specific types of foot injuries in children resulting from equestrian sports, highlighting the crucial role of appropriate riding boots in injury prevention.

Research Context

• The research was conducted based on a 12-year patient admission data in Children’s Hospital of Geneva due to injuries resulting from horseback riding.
• Out of the 258 children admitted during this period, 8 experienced foot injuries severe enough to necessitate hospital care.
• The aim was to identify the common causes of these foot injuries and devise ways to prevent them.

Type of Injuries Analysed

• Of the 8 children admitted with foot injuries, four had compression-type fractures of the cuboid (also known as nutcracker fracture of the cuboid) in conjunction with other complex midfoot fractures.
• Two children were diagnosed with Lisfranc fracture dislocations, in which bones in the middle of the foot are damaged or dislocated.
• One child had a fracture of the talus (the bone that forms the lower part of the ankle joint) with an associated internal malleolar fracture. Another child experienced a fracture of all five metatarsals — long bones in the foot — with lateral displacement.

Traumatic Mechanisms

• Researchers observed that all foot injuries resulted from similar traumatic experiences where the horse fell on the rider and the child’s foot, trapped in the stirrup, was caught between the animal and the ground.
• The stirrup exerted an abductive force on the forefoot, acting as a fulcrum and bending the foot in an unnatural direction.

Recommendations

• The study emphasizes the severity of foot injuries that children can sustain during equestrian activities, which can be highly debilitating.
• Doctors, instructors, and parents are advised to promote the use of proper safety equipment, including robust riding boots and safety stirrups, to protect these vulnerable areas and potentially avoid such injuries.