Number of skiing injuries decrease as equipment advances

Issue: July 2014

BOULDER, Colo. — Skiing has seen its rate of injury decrease with the advancement of athletic equipment, according to a presenter here at the International Extreme Sports Medicine Annual Congress.

Jason Rhodes

Jason Rhodes, MD, MS, an assistant professor at the Department of Orthopaedics at the University of Colorado, said 33% of all skiing injuries involve the knee and there are significantly more injuries to the lower extremities than to the upper extremities. Similar to many extreme sports, most of these injuries are sprains, strains and contusions. There are an average of two to four injuries per 1,000 participant days as an amateur skier. In contrast, 17 injuries per 1,000 completed runs were sustained by professional skiers.

“If you are trying to race and go as fast as possible, obviously you have a much higher risk of falling and getting significantly injured,” Rhodes said.

Although there are no data to support that helmets reduce fatalities, they have been frequently found to reduce the rate of traumatic head injury among skiers, he said.

“There is talk of making [helmets] required,” Rhodes said. “We are all required to wear helmets as teachers now and all of our students are required to wear them as well.”
Of all the injuries a skier is likely to sustain, 70% can be treated on the slope by ski patrol, according to Rhodes.

Orthopedics Today is the medical media partner for the International Extreme Sports Medicine Congress. —by Christian Ingram

Reference:

Rhodes J. Skiing injuries. Presented at: International Extreme Sports Medicine Annual Congress; June 13-14, 2014; Boulder, Colo.

Disclosure: Rhodes has no relevant financial disclosures