Open Lateral Collateral Ligament Injury of the Interphalangeal Joint of the Great Toe in Adolescents During Taekwondo

BackgroundSports-related open lateral collateral ligament injury of the interphalangeal joint of the great toe has not been previously described in the English literature.HypothesisThis injury can occur in adolescents while performing barefooted high-kicking or fast-running exercises involving rapid, 180° turns on a dry, rough, wooden floor in a Taekwondo gymnasium. Injury occurs when the whole body turns quickly while supported only by the plantar aspect of the distal phalanx of the great toe.Study DesignCase series; Level of evidence, 4.MethodsThe 7 study subjects consisted of 6 boys and 1 girl between 10 and 16 years old. Causes, pattern, mechanism of injury, treatment, and outcomes were investigated.ResultsAll patients showed the same injury pattern and mechanism. They all had an open wound on the dorsolateral aspect of the interphalangeal joint. It was postulated that rapid whole body turning supported only by the distal phalanx of the great toe produces nonphysiologic varus stress at the interphalan...