Pull-Up Palms (PUP): A Case of Exercise-Associated Palmar Callosities and Review of Sports-Related Hand-Associated Skin Conditions in Athletes

Abstract

Sports dermatology describes skin conditions occurring in athletes. We describe a man with callosities on his palmar hands and fingers secondary to pull-ups and review sports-related dermatoses involving the hands. A 42-year-old man presented with a several-year history of calluses on his palmar hands. The lesions correspond to areas of contact on his ventral hand with the pull-up bar; therefore, the condition is referred to as pull-up palms (PUP). Sports-related dermatoses affecting the hands include contact dermatitis, infections, lacerations, and mechanical trauma. Several of the sports-associated conditions of the hand are unique to a specific sport. Hand-associated sports dermatoses are reviewed.

Keywords: athletes; callosities; calluses; dermatosis; exercise; hand; palms; pull-up; skin; sports.

Figure 1. Pull-up palms (PUP) presenting as ventral hand and finger callosities

Distant view of palmar callosities (black arrows) on the hands of a 42-year-old man who does pull-ups for more than 30 minutes each day during the previous five years.

Figure 2. Palmar callosities are the morphologic presentation of exercise-associated pull-up palms (PUP)

Closer views of the right hand (A) and left hand (B) show callosities (black arrows) on the palmar distal hand and proximal second, third, and fourth digits on the right and left hands in an exercise enthusiast who does daily pull-ups. A notable asymmetry between hands is a small callosity just distal to the patient’s wedding band on his left fourth digit.