Occupational injury study in jockeys in Turkey: Relationship between experience, type of injury and localization

Abstract

Equestrian sports are known as potentially dangerous sports that are vulnerable to damage to the spine and extremities. The aim of this study is to characterize the type and localization of injuries and evaluate their relationship with occupational experience. In-between 2015-2017, records of orthopedic injuries during horse riding in jockeys were retrospectively evaluated. Patients were divided into 2 subgroups according to their professional experience. Winners up to 100 races were classified as amateur (apranti jockey), more than 100 race winners were classified as experienced (jockey). Localizations of injury types were divided into bones and soft tissue, and their relationship between age and experience were statistically evaluated. Eighty-five patients were included in this study. The mean age was 24.6 (17-32). Thirty-nine patients were classified as amateur and 46 patients were classified as experienced. Thirty-two of 85 patients were treated conservatively. Of the eighty-five patients, 53 were treated with surgical methods. There is no statistically significant difference between experience, type and localization of injuries (p>0.05). The results of this study makes us think that horse sports are open to serious injuries that require surgical treatment and always requires high levels of attention independent from experience.