Greenwald Richard M. - Snow sports trauma and safety: conference proceedings of the International Society for Skiing Safety: 21st Volume

The Author(s) 2017

Arne Ekeland 1 , Andreas Rdven 2 and Stig Heir 1

Abstract

Introduction: The Norwegian Ski Lift Association has since 1996 conducted a central registration of the injuries occurring in the major Norwegian ski resorts to survey the injury types. The aim of this study was to report injury trends in the period 19962012.

Material and methods: The injuries occurring in 716 Norwegian ski resorts were recorded by ski patrols during the 16 winter seasons 1996/19972011/2012 and related to a series of demographic factors. The number of skiing/boarder days was calculated from sold lift tickets (day cards), but these were only centrally recorded from the 2000/2001 season.

Results: A total of 55127 injured skiers and boarders were recorded. The injury rate dropped from 1.47 to 1.27 injuries per 1000 skier/boarder days ( P < 0.001), and the skiing/boarding ability increased ( P < 0.001) in the period 20002012. Most of the injuries occurred on groomed slopes, but an increasing number of injuries occurred in terrain parks, from only 4% in the 2000/2002 seasons to 24% in the last two seasons. More serious injuries (fractures and back injuries) were recorded in terrain parks than those occurring at other locations. Many of the injuries were similarly distributed among skiers and boarders, but alpine skiers suffered more lower extremity injuries, especially knee injuries (24%) compared to snowboarders (7%), whereas the reverse was observed for wrist injuries with 22% for snowboarders and 5% for alpine skiers in the last 2-year period ( P < 0.001). The prevalence of knee injuries among alpine skiers has been about 25% in the period 19962012, but wrist injuries among snowboarders dropped from 29 to 22% ( P < 0.001). The prevalence of knee injuries was twice as high for females (31%) as for males (15%), whereas the reverse was observed for shoulder injuries with 19% for males and 7% for females in the last 2-year period ( P < 0.001). These differences have been observed during the whole period. Lower leg fracture for alpine skiers <13 years dropped from 20 to 13% in the period ( P < 0.001), but has remained unchanged with about 4% for teenagers and adult skiers. Helmet use by injured skiers/boarders has increased from 11 to 81% in the period, and the prevalence of head injuries has dropped from 19 to 16% ( P < 0.001).

Conclusion: The injury rate on Norwegian slopes dropped with 14% in the period 20002012. The prevalence of back injuries for injured snowboarders increased by 100% from 1996 to 2012, and this may be related to one-third of the injuries occurred in terrain parks at the end of the period. The prevalence of lower leg fracture in alpine children is declined by 35% in the period. Use of helmet by injured skiers/boarders increased from 11 to 81% and the prevalence of head injuries dropped with 16% during the same period.

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