Category: Orthopedics
Keywords: Skiing, gamekeeper (PubMed Search)
Posted: 1/12/2019 by Brian Corwell, MD
(Updated: 11/13/2024)
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Epidemiology of Alpine Skiing Injuries
Mean age of injury 30.3 (range 24 to 35.4 years)
Populations at greatest risk are children and adolescents and possibly adults over 50 (increased risk of tibial plateau fractures)
Sex: Males> females
Knee injuries, esp to ACL, are higher among females
Fractures greater in males
Injury location greatest at lower extremity (primarily to knee)
Primarily sprains to MCL and ACL (increasing incidence)
14% occur to upper extremity and primarily involve the thumb and shoulder
Skiers thumb – FOOSH with thumb Abducted gripping pole
Pole is implicated as this injury is rare among snowboarders
The pole acts as a lever to amplify the forced Abduction of the thumb as the outstretched hand hits the ground.
Let go before you hit the ground!!
13% occur to head and neck
The number of all type injuries has decreased over time with advances in equipment and helmet use
Proportion of skiers wearing a helmet exceeds 80%
However, the number of traumatic fatalities has remained constant
Accidents involving fatalities exceed the protective capacity of helmets
Helmets likely decrease risk of mild and moderate head injury
Ekeland et al., 2018. Epidemiology of Alpine Skiing Injuries. J Sci Med Sport
Davey et al., 2018. Alpine Skiing Injuries. Sports Health