First-Rib Stress Fractures in Adolescent Throwing Athletes

Investigators from Keiyu Orthopaedic Hospital, Tatebayashi, Japan, and Matsuda Orthopedic Memorial Hospital, Sapporo, Japan, conducted a retrospective study to describe the clinical characteristics of first-rib stress fractures in adolescent and young adult athletes engaged in overhead throwing sports. For the study, the medical records of consecutive patients seen at their hospitals with first-rib stress fracture diagnosed on radiography or CT were reviewed. Only patients involved in overhead throwing sports who were followed for ≥1 year were included in the study. Clinical features, including age, sex, initial symptoms, sport, treatment, and outcome, were abstracted from the medical records of study participants. A substudy was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of …