There are many different ways that someone could potentially suffer a degloving injury. All of them are traumatic in nature and lead to a force that pulls on the skin while leaving the tissue underneath the skin in place. This stretching of the skin over the stationary tissue underneath detaches the skin from its connection with the rest of the body’s tissue. When this connection is severed, the avulsion injury occurs. 

• Rock Climbing Degloving – While almost every active sport has the potential to cause an avulsion injury, the risk while rock climbing is particularly high. For example, someone who reaches up for a rock and fails to get a secure grip could have their hand scrape off of the side of the rock. This scraping motion could lead to a finger degloving injury. The risk for a degloved finger is higher if someone gets their wedding ring stuck on a rock while the rest of the hand slips. Furthermore, a rock climber could get their finger or hand stuck in their gear and cause an avulsion injury while pulling their hand to become unstuck.
• Car Accidents – Undoubtedly, auto accidents are another place someone could suffer a degloving injury. A serious accident could throw a driver or passenger from the vehicle, causing an avulsion injury among numerous other traumatic injuries. If someone skids along the pavement at high speed, their skin could get stuck to the pavement as the rest of their body careens along the road. This could lead to degloving injuries in numerous parts of the body. Everyone should make sure to wear their seat belt to prevent being thrown from a vehicle and from suffering this type of extremity trauma.
• Motorcycle Accidents – A motorcycle accident can lead to a degloving injury through similar mechanisms. A rider could think of an avulsion injury as a form of severe “road rash.” When a motorcycle rider has an accident or falls from their motorcycle, they skid along the pavement at high speeds. This causes degloving in a manner similar to that described above. Make sure to wear protection overexposed areas of the skin to guard against this injury.
• Workplace Accidents – People can also suffer a degloving injury while at work. Most injuries that occur in this manner are from people working in heavy industries. Forklifts, augers, and power tools can catch someone’s exposed skin if they aren’t paying attention. Employees could also get a limb stuck in a piece of equipment. This could lead to the limb being fractured, shattered, or degloved in the process. Everyone should make sure that their equipment has been properly maintained. Finally, everyone should take the necessary safety precautions to guard against an injury that could potentially end their career.

There are numerous types of degloving injuries that people should be aware of.

• Abrasion – An abrasion degloving injury is the removal of a patch of skin from a single site. This can be viewed as a superficial avulsion injury; however, this does not mean that it is not serious. While only one plane of skin has been removed, this still has the potential to be a large injury. A large abrasion can lead to severe pain and blood loss. These injuries still warrant the immediate attention of a medical professional to prevent a serious infection from developing.
• Circumferential – In contrast to the abrasion described above, a circumferential injury removes the skin from a limb on all sides. View this injury as someone removing a sock or stocking that used to encase their entire lower leg. Instead of removing an article of clothing, the skin is removed in this fashion. In general, these injuries are more severe than the abrasions described above; however, a circumferential degloving injury can also range in its size and severity. For example, a circumferential degloved finger is going to be different than a circumferential injury of a thigh.

It is also important to note that degloving injuries can be classified based on their depth and the number of layers that have been degloved. A shallow degloving injury may only remove one layer of skin from the surface. On the other hand, more severe injuries could remove multiple layers of skin or even some of the subcutaneous tissue from underneath.

A degloving injury is typically diagnosed using the clinical picture alone. The doctor will ask the patient a few questions about how and when the injury occurred. They may also ask about the patient’s symptoms, when they developed, and perform a routine physical exam to ensure that other areas of degloving are not missed.

A clinical diagnosis means that lab tests and advanced imaging are not usually required to make the final diagnosis; however, they could still be used to diagnose the severity of the injury and to look for other associated issues.