Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Oct 17;6(10):2325967118803090.
doi: 10.1177/2325967118803090. eCollection 2018 Oct.

Return to Play After Hook of Hamate Excision in Baseball Players

Andrew Burleson  1 , Steven Shin  1
Affiliations

Return to Play After Hook of Hamate Excision in Baseball Players

Andrew Burleson et al. Orthop J Sports Med. .

Abstract

Background: Fractures of the hook of hamate in baseball players are significant injuries that can lead to pain and missed time from competition. The diagnosis is typically delayed because of the vagueness of symptoms and normal radiographic findings. Excision of the nonunited fragment has been supported as the primary treatment, but there are currently limited information and data on a timetable for return to competition after surgery.

Purpose: To report on a large cohort of competitive baseball players with hook of hamate fractures treated with excision of the fragment and to assess the timetable for return to full athletic competition.

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

Methods: Competitive baseball players treated between 2012 and 2017 with hook of hamate excision for acute fractures or chronic fracture nonunions were retrospectively identified. All patients were treated by the same surgeon, and the time to return to full athletic competition was assessed. Return to play was defined as reaching the athlete's preinjury level and being able to perform full sport activities.

Results: A total of 41 baseball players were identified, all of whom were documented to have a chronic presentation of a nonunion or partial union. The population consisted completely of male athletes, with a median age of 21 years (range, 18-34 years). All patients were competitive athletes, with 12 professional baseball players, 17 collegiate baseball players, and 12 high school baseball players. All patients were treated with hook of hamate excision, with 7 patients undergoing concomitant procedures as indicated. The median time to return to play was 5 weeks (range, 3-7 weeks). The time to return to play was similar between professional, collegiate, and high school athletes. All athletes returned to their preinjury level of activity by 7 weeks postoperatively.

Conclusion: This study confirms that excision of the fractured hook provides predictable, early return to play, with a limited complication rate.

Keywords: baseball; fracture; hook of hamate; return to play.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

One or more of the authors has declared the following potential conflict of interest or source of funding: A.B. has received educational support and hospitality payments from Smith & Nephew. S.S. has received educational support and hospitality payments from Arthrex and Gemini Medical. AOSSM checks author disclosures against the Open Payments Database (OPD). AOSSM has not conducted an independent investigation on the OPD and disclaims any liability or responsibility relating thereto.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Axial computed tomography of the wrist showing a fracture of the hook of hamate in an 18-year-old baseball player.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Araujo CG, Scharhag J. Athlete: a working definition for medical and health sciences research. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2016;26(1):4–7. - PubMed
    1. Bachoura A, Wroblewski A, Jacoby SM, Osterman AL, Culp RW. Hook of hamate fractures in competitive baseball players. Hand (NY). 2013;8(3):302–307. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bansal A, Carlan D, Moley J, Goodson H, Goldfarb CA. Return to play and complications after hook of the hamate fracture surgery. J Hand Surg Am. 2017;42(10):803–809. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bishop AT, Beckenbaugh RD. Fracture of the hamate hook. J Hand Surg Am. 1988;13(1):135–139. - PubMed
    1. Carter AB, Kaminski TW, Douex AT, Jr, Knight CA, Richards JG. Effects of high volume upper extremity plyometric training on throwing velocity and functional strength ratios of the shoulder rotators in collegiate baseball players. J Strength Cond Res. 2007;21(1):208–215. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources