Tackler's bony spur in sumo wrestlers: a report of two cases

We examined two sumo wrestlers who had tackler's bony spur. In football players, these spurs are secondary to subperiosteal hematoma formation from repeated direct blows by an opponent or from ill-fitting shoulder pads. The initial charge of sumo wrestling is similar to a tackle in American football. Our two patients had had repeated direct blows by opponents on the initial wrestling charge. The tackler's bony spurs of our two patients were located on the lateral aspect of the humeral shaft just distal to the deltoid insertion, and there was no involvement of the anterior mass of the brachialis muscles or elbow. We consider that tackler's bony spurs are sometimes, but not often, seen in sumo wrestlers.