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Winter Sport Injuries: Risk Factors and Preventive Measures

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Sport and Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 7511

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Gerhard Ruedl

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Guest Editor

Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, Fürstenweg 185, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Interests: injury prevention; sports injuries

Prof. Dr. Martin Burtscher

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Guest Editor

Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, Fürstenweg 185, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Interests: exercise physiology; extreme environments; high-altitude medicine
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Winter sports activities, e.g., alpine skiing, snowboarding, ski touring, cross-country skiing, or sledging, are very popular and enjoyed annually by several hundred million people worldwide. Although some epidemiological data are available on the prevalence of injuries during different recreational and competitive winter sports, much less is known regarding the risk factors, causes, and mechanisms of such injuries, and even less regarding the outcomes of targeted preventive measures.

This Special Issue seeks research papers on injuries occurring during various types of recreational and competitive winter sports, focusing on individual risk factors (e.g., sex, age, risk-taking, fitness), equipment-related risk factors (e.g., gear used, ski bindings, ski geometric parameters, boots) and environmental risk factors (e.g., snow and weather conditions, temperature, altitude, slope steepness, snow parks), underlying causes and mechanisms (e.g., self-inflicted falls, collisions, jumps, high speed), and outcomes of and/or suggestions for prevention studies (e.g., use of ski helmet, back protector and wrist guards, warming-up, binding adjustment).

Dr. Gerhard Ruedl
Prof. Dr. Martin Burtscher
Guest Editors

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Keywords

downhill skiing
snowboarding
ski touring
protective gear, e.g., ski helmet, wrist guards
equipment, e.g., boots, standing height, side-cut radius, ski binding
preventive measures
behavior
environment, e.g., avalanches, cold, altitude
injury mechanisms
risk factors

Published Papers (5 papers)

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12 pages, 2504 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Muscular Fatigue and Quadriceps-to-Hamstring Ratio in Alpine Skiing in Women over 40 Years

by Aljoscha Hermann, Vera Christl, Valentin Hastreiter, Patrick Carqueville, Lynn Ellenberger and Veit Senner

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(8), 5486; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20085486 - 12 Apr 2023

Viewed by 1447

Abstract

(1) Background: In alpine skiing, senior athletes and especially women have a high risk of knee injury. This may also be related to muscular fatigue (MF) of the knee-stabilizing thigh muscles. This study investigates both the evolution of muscle activity (MA) and of MF of the thighs throughout an entire skiing day. (2) Methods: n = 38 female recreational skiers over 40 years of age performed four specific skiing tasks (plough turns, V-steps uphill, turns with short, and middle radii) at specific times, while freely skiing the rest of the day. Surface EMG of the thigh muscle groups (quadriceps and hamstrings) was measured using special wearables (EMG pants). Apart from standard muscle activity parameters, the EMG data were also processed in the frequency domain to calculate the mean frequency and its shift over the day as a metric of muscle fatigue. (3) Results: The EMG pants showed reliable signal quality over the entire day, with BMI not impacting this. MF increased during skiing before and for both muscle groups significantly (p < 0.006) during lunch. MF, however, was not reflected in the quadriceps–hamstrings ratio. The plough manoeuvre seems to require significantly (p < 0.003) more muscle dynamics than the three other tasks. (4) Conclusion: MF may be quantified over an entire skiing day and thus fatigue information could be given to the skier. This is of major importance for skiers at the beginner level dominantly performing plough turns. Crucial for all skiers: There is no regenerative effect of a 45-min lunch break. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Winter Sport Injuries: Risk Factors and Preventive Measures)

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12 pages, 548 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Managing Accident Prevention in Ski Resorts: Participants’ Actual Velocities in Slow Zones

by Luis Carus and Xhevrije Mamaqi-Kapllani

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(7), 5302; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20075302 - 29 Mar 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1152

Abstract

Velocity is one of the main factors affecting the kinematic of snow sports’ accidents and the severity of resulting injuries. The aims of the present study were to measure the actual maximum velocities attained by a sample of snow sports participants in slow zones, to compare them to the recommended velocity limits and to assess whether their velocities were in any way related to their personal characteristics and to environmental conditions. Data were drawn from a sample of 1023 recreational skiers and snowboarders during the 2021–2022 winter season at four ski resorts located in the Spanish Pyrenees. Maximum velocity measurements were taken by the authors with a radar speed gun whose precision had been previously validated. Bivariate analysis tests were used to compare the influence that personal characteristics and environmental conditions had on the participants’ maximum velocities. Furthermore, a multivariate analysis was performed. The binary logistic regression was used to distinguish the categories of personal and environmental factors that have the highest probabilities of impact on different segments of velocity. As generally accepted, probability values were two-tailed, and values of 0.05 or less were regarded as statistically significant. Participants’ mean measured maximum velocity (±SD) was 51.61 (±16.14) km/h. A vast majority of the participants in this study traveled in slow zones at actual maximum velocities well over the recommended limits. Multivariate analysis showed that modality and both environmental conditions (visibility and snow quality) were highly significant and can be used to explain the chances of an increase in velocity in slow zones. Further research is needed to investigate causal relationships between skiers and snowboarders’ accidents, injuries and disrespect for velocity limits. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Winter Sport Injuries: Risk Factors and Preventive Measures)

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12 pages, 606 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Risk Factors for Accidents and Close Calls in Junior Freeriders, Adolescent Alpine Skiers and Adult Freeriders—A Comparison

by Anika Frühauf, Martin Kopp and Martin Niedermeier

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(22), 15076; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192215076 - 16 Nov 2022

Viewed by 1065

Abstract

Understanding factors associated with risk-taking behavior, accidents and close calls could enhance prevention strategies and thus contribute to preventing serious injury or death in the long term. The following study aims to assess these factors in junior freeride athletes in comparison with competitive alpine skiers of similar age and adult freeriders. A cross-sectional questionnaire design was used to assess risk-related variables and potential associated factors. Accident and close call involvement did not significantly differ between the groups (p > 0.080). No significant relationships between gender and risk-related variables were found (|r| < 0.26). Precautionary behavior was higher in freeride adults and freeride juniors compared to alpine skiers (p < 0.001) and deliberate risk-taking was lower in freeride adults compared to junior freeriders and alpine skiers (p < 0.001). Regression analyses revealed that the association between self-objectification and accidents was stronger in freeride juniors compared to alpine skiers of similar age and freeride adults (p < 0.049). Although accidents and close calls were similar between groups, age seems to be an associated variable to deliberate risk-taking and precautionary behavior. The relationship between accidents and self-objectification in freeride juniors implicates a need for risk education in freeriders in the sensitive phase of adolescence beyond the mere presentation of environmental dangers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Winter Sport Injuries: Risk Factors and Preventive Measures)

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10 pages, 1348 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Influence of Protective Headgear on the Visual Field of Recreational-Level Skiers

by Mateja Očić, Ivan Bon, Lana Ružić, Vjekoslav Cigrovski and Tomislav Rupčić

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(17), 10626; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191710626 - 25 Aug 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1462

Abstract

The benefit of protective headgear for recreational skiers is an ongoing debate in the snow sports industry, and there are a lot of opposing opinions. Due to the dynamic conditions in which winter sports are performed, athletes demand rapid and constant processing of visual information. A sufficient level of anticipation helps athletes to properly position themselves to reduce the forces transferred to the head or even move to avoid a collision. To objectively identify the impact of protective headgear on the visual field when skiing, it is necessary to conduct suitable measurements. The sample consisted of 43 recreational-level skiers (27 M, 16 F; age 31.6 ± 8.23 years). A predefined testing protocol on an ortoreter was used to assess the visual field for three conditions of wearing protective headgear. Differences in perceived visual stimuli between the three conditions were evaluated by repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Based on the observed results, it can be concluded that the combination of wearing a ski helmet and ski goggles significantly negatively influences visual performance in a way that the visual field is narrowed, for both helmet users and non-users, only when comparing the tested conditions. When comparing helmet users and non-users, there are no differences in the amount of visual impairment; therefore, the habit of wearing a helmet does not influence the ability of perceiving visual stimuli. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Winter Sport Injuries: Risk Factors and Preventive Measures)

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7 pages, 651 KiB

Open AccessBrief Report

Unchanged Fatality Rate on Austrian Ski Slopes during the COVID-19 Lockdown

by Markus Posch, Johannes Burtscher, Gerhard Ruedl, Elena Pocecco and Martin Burtscher

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(13), 7771; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19137771 - 24 Jun 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1470

Abstract

Fatalities on ski slopes are very rare, with about one death per one million skier days. Whether the fatality rate is affected by substantial changes in the number of skier days and potentially associated alterations in the structure of the skier population is unknown. Thus, we compared the fatality rate on Austrian ski slopes in the winter season of 2020/21, when skiing activities were dramatically restricted during the COVID-19 lockdown, with those of the previous winter seasons. As a consequence of COVID-19 measures, the number of skier days dropped from over 50 million in previous years to 9.2 million skier days in the winter season of 2020/21. Still, the fatality rate (6.5 deaths/10 million skier days) was not different when compared to any of the seasons from 2011/12 to 2019/20. Despite the lack of international skiers and the reduction in skier days by more than 80%, the fatality rate remained surprisingly unchanged. The weather and snowfall conditions were on average comparable to those of previous winters, and, except for nationality, the composition of the skier population appears to have remained relatively unaltered. In conclusion, the fatality rate during downhill skiing is low and the absolute fatality numbers are primarily a function of the number of skier days. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Winter Sport Injuries: Risk Factors and Preventive Measures)

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