Do you know the most common injuries in alpine skiing?
As many as 1 out of 3 competitive skiers injure themselves during the winter season. Among leisure skiers, there are approximately 1.5 injuries per 1000 skiing days.
Not all injuries can be avoided. Sometimes you just have bad luck. Many factors affect the frequency and severity of injuries in alpine skiing.
Independent of skill level, age and sex, half of all injuries occur in the lower extremities. Acute knee injuries account for 30-40% of all injuries in alpine skiing. The most frequent and serious injuries are ligament injuries, for example an anterior cruciate ligament tear. The degree of stretching or tearing of the knee ligaments varies. We don’t know exactly why there are so many knee injuries in alpine skiing, but we do know that if you have good control of your skis, it will be less likely that you injure yourself.
Wear a helmet
Head injuries account for 10-20% of injuries. Wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of any head injury by 60%!
Upper body injuries account for 20% of all the injuries in alpine skiing. Shoulder and thumb injuries are most common. «Skier’s thumb» is most frequent and is usually the results of a direct fall
on an outstretched hand with a ski pole in the palm of your hand. This can cause partial or complete rupture of ligaments and in some cases even a fracture.
Other common injuries
- Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear
- Concussion
- Shoulder dislocation