A REVIEW OF INCIDENCE AND INJURY PATTERNS OF EQUESTRIAN-RELATED ACCIDENTS IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

Introduction: Horse riding represents a globally popular activity for people of all ages for recreational, sport or professional purposes. Among these individuals an increasing number of young people, children and adolescents has been recorded. Unfortunately, horseback riding is though a common source of injury.
Aim: In this study an article review was conducted with the purpose to analyze the existing scientific data on the incidence and injury patterns of equestrian-related accidents in children and adolescents.
Material-Method: An article review was conducted with the purpose to analyze the existing scientific data on the incidence and injury patterns of equestrian-related accidents in children and adolescents. Publications relating to the epidemiology and mechanisms of injury, in English and French language were identified from a Medline, database search between January 1970 and December 2016 with ‘‘equestrian injuries’’, ‘‘children’’, “adolescents”, ‘‘epidemiology’’, ‘‘injury pattern”, ‘‘prevention’’ and “injury severity” keywords and with MeSH (Medline/PubMed’s article indexing terminology) subject headings.
Results: Horse riding is an activity associated with a significant frequency of accidents mainly due to falls off the horses, accompanied by a large number of accidents, mainly head and upper limbs injuries. These horse riding injuries can range from minor and relatively harmless injuries to serious ones requiring admission to the hospital, which may have significant long-term consequences on the health of the rider or can even endanger his life. 
Conclusion: These injuries impose considerable socio-economic costs, with unbearable consequences for the life and health of young riders. For these reasons, prevention strategies as well as the appropriate equipment and particularly the use of a special helmet is of particular importance.