Acute Upper Extremity Injuries in Young Athletes

Acute upper extremity injuries are common in child and adolescent athletes as a result of sports participation, particularly collision and contact sports. In addition, skeletally immature athletes can sustain unique injuries that must be differentiated from those sustained by skeletally mature athletes. Emergency care providers must be aware of these acute injuries to properly evaluate and manage them. This review describes current strategies for the evaluation and treatment of acute common sports injuries in addition to less common but more problematic sports injuries to the upper extremity of youth athletes. Common injury mechanisms, pertinent history and physical examination, radiographic findings, initial treatment, need for subspecialty referral, and return-to-play guidelines are discussed.