Stener Lesion eMedicine Orthopedics

Description: In his now classic 1962 article, Bertil Stener described a distinct, surgically correctable anatomic lesion that could account for the chronic instability found in the thumbs of some gamekeepers and skiers. CS Campbell first coined the term gamekeeper's thumb in 1955, when he described insufficiency in the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) of the thumb metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint in many Scottish gamekeepers.
Stener described a lesion produced by forced thumb abduction in which the distal attachment of the UCL was traumatically avulsed from the proximal phalanx of the thumb. The severed end would become caught under the adductor aponeurosis and therefore be unable to return to its anatomic position. Consequently, the severed ligament would fold on itself and thus be prevented from healing and restoring stability to the MCP joint
Synonyms and related keywords: gamekeeper's thumb, skier's thumb, insufficiency of the ulnar collateral ligament of the thumb metacarpophalangeal joint, UCL, MCP, thumb injury
Rectenwald & Walsh 2007