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Skiing Injuries
Skiing over the years has become a sport that more and more people are taking to recently. From being a pleasure driven event during vacation, it has evolved as a sport with high degree of competition and energy. Thus, it has its own share of injuries too.
Injuries from skiing and snowboarding can include:
- Head injuries
- Knee injuries
Head Injuries
Most of the fatal head injuries occur in younger, more aggressive skiers who are skiing out of control, on un-groomed trails, at high speeds (usually greater than 30 mph) and striking a solid, fixed object.
Only 10-15% of all ski injuries are related to head injuries with over 43% occurring in younger children. Your best protection against a head injury is to ski skillfully, on groomed trails, at lower speeds. It is highly recommended that you use a helmet.
Knee Injuries
Knee injuries are quite frequent in skiers because of the simple mechanics of the sport: the body is propelled at high speed. Your feet and ankles are relatively locked into your skis. In a situation where your ski is torqued, but does not release, the joint that sustains the most force is the knee. Knee injuries can range from simple meniscus tears, to more severe injuries such as ACL tears or even complete dislocations.
The two most common knee injuries are to the medial
- Collateral Ligament (MCL)
- Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL)
By far, knee injury is the most common disabling injury for skiers and boarders. It accounts for 25% of all ski injuries
Prevention
- Keep your knees flexed, and don't try to straighten them during a fall since a straight leg provides a longer lever force against the knee.
- When you're down, stay down; don't try to stop the fall. You can not predict which way your leg is going to twist.
- Fall forward: Don't land on your hands backward.
- Keep your arms up and forward. Falling backwards places abnormal forces across the ACL.
- Don't jump unless you know where and how to land.
- Land on both skis and keep your knees flexed