Pediatric hand injuries due to home exercycles

Abstract

The clinical presentation and management of 19 children who sustained injuries by stationary exercise bicycles were reviewed retrospectively. These injuries represented 32 traumatized digits with a minimum of 2-year follow-up. The index and long fingers were most commonly involved. Wheel-spoke injuries typically produced repairable nerve and tendon lacerations, and full functional recovery in these cases was common. The chain/sprocket injury involved a crushing mechanism and frequently produced severe injury including amputations that were not salvageable. Stationary exercise bicycles represented a predictable source of severe hand injury in children between the ages of 18 months and 5 years. Adult supervision was not reliable in preventing contact between an operating exercycle and a child's hand. We recommend that children not be allowed access to any stationary exercycle machinery, whether it is in use or not. Safety design considerations should focus on not only shielding the wheel spokes, but also (and perhaps even more important) on enclosing the entire chain axis and gear interface. In addition to these design considerations, public education will be critical in reducing the incidence of injury.