Digital perfusion of handball players. Effects of repeated ball impact on structures of the hand.

The effect of repeated ball impacts on the handball player's hands was studied by using thermography and routine roentgenography to determine evidence of altered perfusion or other tissue changes. Seventeen of 22 players had multiple areas of decreased perfusion. 12 of these 17 were symptomatic and 8 showed definite correlation between symptoms and thermographic findings. No skeletal or articular changes were noted. Players with more than 200 hr of accumulated playing time had increased risk of developing symptomatic, although nonprogressive, alterations in perfusion of their hands but did not have evident skeletal changes.