Sports injuries: snowsports

Last revised by Daniel J Bell on 5 Mar 2021

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Knipe H, Bell D, Sports injuries: snowsports. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 19 Apr 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-71771

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-71771

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/71771

rID:

71771

Article created:

22 Oct 2019, Henry Knipe ◉ ◈

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created Henry Knipe had no recorded disclosures.

View Henry Knipe's current disclosures

Last revised:

5 Mar 2021, Daniel J Bell ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Daniel J Bell had no recorded disclosures.

View Daniel J Bell's current disclosures

Revisions:

3 times, by 2 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Systems:

Musculoskeletal

Sections:

Gamuts

Tags:

sports medicine

Synonyms:

Snowsports injuries
Skiing injuries
Snowboarding injuries

Snowsport injuries cover a broad range of activities from skiing and snowboarding to recreational play (e.g. tobogganing, tubing).

Epidemiology

Snowsports are popular with over 70 million people globally participating each year ¹. While the injury rate varies depending on location, a rough average is ~3 injuries per 1000 skier/boarder-days ^2,3.

Pathology

Mechanism

falls (most common, >70%) ^1,3
collisions
jumps
man-made terrain features
lift accidents

Types

There are differences between skier and snowboarder patterns of injuries:

skiers
- lower extremity (most common) ¹
  - knee most common site ^3,4
snowboarders
- upper extremity (most common) ^1,4
  - wrist fractures 10x more common in snowboarders than skiers ³
- lower extremity
  - lateral talar process fracture ("snowboarder fracture") ⁵