HOME HELP CONTACT US SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:
Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 33/3/424    most recent 0363546504268134v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Rossi, C. Articles by Costanzo, G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Rossi, C. Articles by Costanzo, G. Related Collections Other

De Quervain Disease in Volleyball Players

Costantino Rossi, MD^*, Paolo Cellocco, MD^*,, Enrico Margaritondo, MD, Francesco Bizzarri, MD^* and Giuseppe Costanzo, MD^*,

From the ^* Istituto di Malattie dell’Apparato Locomotore, Università degli Studi, L’Aquila, Italy, the Istituto Universitario di Scienze Motorie di Roma, Rome, Italy, and Clinica Chirurgica D’Urgenza e di Pronto Soccorso, Università "La Sapienza," Rome, Italy, and the Fondazione Don Gnocchi, Rome, Italy

Address correspondence to Paolo Cellocco, MD, Clinica Ortopedica e Traumatologica, University of L’Aquila, via degli Orseolo 29, Rome 00148, Italy.

Background: Chronic inflammatory tendon diseases in athletes are frequent, and they often result from modifications in normal kinematics of a tendon associated with a patient’s anatomical determinants. De Quervain stenosing tenosynovitis is an inflammatory disease of tendons of the first dorsal compartment of the wrist. There is no literature about this disease concerning professional volleyball players.

Hypothesis: Limited, multiple trauma on the dorsal radial portion of the wrist, associated with long training times, can be involved in the pathogenetic process of de Quervain disease in professional volleyball players.

Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Materials and Methods: The authors studied 45 consecutively enrolled volleyball players (27 professional, 18 nonprofessional) satisfying clinical criteria for the diagnosis of de Quervain stenosing tenosynovitis. All patients were evaluated by questionnaire and physical examination. They were divided into group A (mild) and group B (severe) based on the severity of the symptoms and physical findings; they were followed for a mean of 37 months.

Results: Total training quantity (mean weekly training time multiplied by mean sports activity duration) in group A was 74, whereas it was 155 in group B (P < .01). No neuropathies were found in group A, whereas they were found in 3 patients in group B. Fifty percent of surgical patients had a longitudinal fibrous septum, whereas 54% showed multiple tendon sheaths making up the abductor pollicis longus tendon.

Conclusions: This study shows that increased training time and consequent microtrauma associated with professional volleyball activity can increase the likelihood of de Quervain disease.

Key Words: de Quervain • tenosynovitis • volleyball • wrist