Differences in injury distribution in professional and recreational snowboarding

Spinal injury in alpine winter sports: a review

Introduction

Alpine winter sports have become increasingly popular over recent decades, with a similar increase in accident incidence. This review provides an overview of the most recent literature concerning spinal injury epidemiology, mechanisms, patterns and prevention strategies in the context of alpine winter sports.

Material and methods

The PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases were searched using the keywords spine injury, alpine injury, spine fracture, skiing injuries, snowboard injuries. 64 published studies in English and German met a priori inclusion criteria and were reviewed in detail by the authors.

Results

There are various mechanisms of injury in alpine winter sports (high speed falls in skiing, jumping failure in snowboarding) whilst regionality and injury severity are broadly similar. The thoracolumbar spine is the most common region for spinal injury. Spinal cord injury is relatively rare, usually accompanying distraction and rotation type fractures and is most commonly localised to the cervical spine. Disc injuries seem to occur more commonly in alpine winter sport athletes than in the general population.

Discussion

Despite awareness of increasing rates and risks of spinal injuries in alpine winter sports, there has been little success in injury prevention.

High incidence of injuries at the Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games: a prospective cohort study of 6804 athlete days

Objective

To describe the epidemiology of sports injury at the Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games.

Methods

567 athletes from 49 countries were monitored daily for 12 days over the Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games (6804 athlete days). Injury data were obtained daily from teams with their own medical support (41 teams and 557 athletes) and teams without their own medical support (8 teams and 10 athletes) through two electronic data capturing systems.

Results

112 of 567 athletes (19.8%) reported a total of 142 injuries, with an injury incidence rate (IR) of 20.9 per 1000 athlete days (95% CI 17.4 to 25.0). The highest IR was reported for para snowboard (IR of 40.5 per 1000 athlete days [95% CI 28.5 to 57.5]; p<0.02), particularly in the lower limb and head/face/neck anatomical areas. Across all sports at the Games, acute traumatic injuries (IR of 16.2 per 1000 athlete days [95% CI 13.2 to 19.8]) and injuries to the shoulder/arm/elbow complex (IR of 5.7 per 1000 athlete days [95% CI 4.2 to 7.8]) were most common. However, most injuries (78.9%) did not require time loss.

Conclusion

The new Paralympic Winter Games sport of Para snowboard requires attention to implement actions that will reduce injury risk. The shoulder was the most injured single joint—a consistent finding in elite para sport.

Management of injuries in snowboarders: rehabilitation and return to activity

Snowboarding has seen a continuous increase in popularity, leading to an increase in the number of snowboarding injuries seen in orthopedic practice. Upper-extremity injuries are more common than lower-extremity, spine, and pelvis injuries. In this review, we focus on the most common snowboarding injuries of the extremities, spine, and pelvis and provide an overview of their respective rehabilitation and return-to-sport protocols. Despite many of the injuries seen in snowboarding also occurring in other sports, objective data about rehabilitation and return to sport are lacking for many injuries. This provides an opportunity for research in the area with regard to many sports and many different injuries.

What are the risk factors for injuries and injury prevention strategies for skiers and snowboarders in terrain parks and half-pipes? A systematic review

OBJECTIVE

To synthesise the current evidence regarding the risk factors, the injury prevention strategies and the profile of injured skiers and snowboarders in terrain parks (TPs) and half-pipes (HPs).

DESIGN

Systematic review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines.

DATA SOURCES

Literature searches from six electronic databases and manual searches were performed.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES

Inclusion criteria were: (1) publication based on original data; (2) injuries sustained in TPs or HPs; (3) recreational skiing or snowboarding injuries; (4) observational or experimental study design with a comparison group.

RESULTS

No study explored the risk factors in HPs or the prevention strategies in TPs or HPs. From the literature retrieved, there is strong evidence that skiing or snowboarding in a TP is a risk factor for head, neck, back and severe injuries. Two papers assessed the risk factors for injuries in TPs, mainly demonstrating that features promoting aerial manoeuvres or a large drop to the ground were associated with higher feature-specific injury rates. The profile of injured skiers and snowboarders in TPs described in the literature suggested some evidence of associations between factors including activity, sex, skill level, helmet use, age and TP injuries.

SUMMARY/CONCLUSIONS

This systematic review demonstrates the need for studies identifying the risk factors for injuries to skiers and snowboarders and on interventions to reduce the risk of injury in TPs and HPs. Studies addressing the issue of TP design should be considered.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42016045206.

Trends of snowboarding-related fractures that presented to emergency departments in the United States, 2010 to 2016

Background

Since it was introduced as an Olympic sport in 1998, snowboarding has drawn the participation of individuals of all ages. Despite the growing popularity of this sport, individuals can suffer from a number of musculoskeletal injuries. The specific goals of the study were to: (I) compare the number of injuries and trends of snowboarding injuries; (II) identify the injury occurrences, trends, and incidence of snowboarding-related fractures; and (III) identify the injury occurrences and trends of snowboarding-related fractures by body part.

Methods

The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) database was queried for snowboarding injuries and snowboarding-related fractures treated in US emergency departments (EDs) from 2010-2016. The weighted estimate of the number of injuries were obtained by using the NEISS statistical weight calculations that were provided in the data. An estimated total of 248,388 patients (mean age =20 years) experienced a snowboarding-related injury. Linear regression analysis was used to analyze annual trends of snowboarding-related fractures and the snowboarding-related fractures by body part; reported as the correlation coefficient (r) and the coefficient of determination (R²).

Results

The estimated annual number of injuries decreased from 56,223 injuries in 2010 to 17,667 injuries in 2016 (r=-0.967, R²=0.936, P<0.001). The most common types of injuries were fractures (31.7%), strains/sprains (25.2%), contusions (10.9%), concussions (10.0%), internal injuries (7.2%), and dislocations (4.0%). From 2010 to 2016, the estimated annual number of fractures decreased from 18,757 in 2010 to 4,539 in 2016 (r=-0.978, R²=0.957, P<0.001), and the annual incidence of snowboarding-related fractures decreased by 23.1%. The most common location of snowboarding-related fractures was the upper extremity, more specifically the wrist (32.3%). There was a decrease in the estimated annual number of fractures of the wrist (r=-0.965, R²=0.932, P<0.001), forearm (r=-0.821, R²=0.861, P=0.023), shoulder (r=-0.872, R²=0.760, P=0.011), elbow (r=-0.901, R²=0.813, P=0.006), and lower leg (r=-0.929, R²=0.864, P=0.002).

Conclusions

With the growing popularity of snowboarding in the US, it is important to know the common types of injuries that occur. This study found that fractures were the most common injuries, especially of the upper extremity.

Comprehensive Review of Skiing and Snowboarding Injuries

Skiing and snowboarding have increased in popularity since the 1960s. Both sports are responsible for a substantial number of musculoskeletal injuries treated annually by orthopaedic surgeons. Specific injury patterns and mechanisms associated with skiing and snowboarding have been identified. No anatomic location is exempt from injury, including the head, spine, pelvis, and upper and lower extremities. In these sports, characteristic injury mechanisms often are related to the position of the limbs during injury, the athlete's expertise level, and equipment design. Controversy exists about the effectiveness of knee bracing and wrist guards in reducing the incidence of these injuries. Understanding these injury patterns, proper training, and the use of injury prevention measures, such as protective equipment, may reduce the overall incidence of these potentially debilitating injuries.