Head injury mechanisms in FIS World Cup alpine and freestyle skiers and snowboarders

Abstract

IntroductionHead injuries represent a concern in skiing and snowboarding, with traumatic brain injuries being the most common cause of death.AimTo describe the mechanisms of head and face injuries among World Cup alpine and freestyle skiers and snowboarders.MethodsWe performed a qualitative analysis of videos obtained of head and face injuries reported through the International Ski Federation Injury Surveillance System during 10 World Cup seasons (2006–2016). We analysed 57 head impact injury videos (alpine n=29, snowboard n=13, freestyle n=15), first independently and subsequently in a consensus meeting.ResultsDuring the crash sequence, most athletes (84%) impacted the snow with the skis or board first, followed by the upper or lower extremities, buttocks/pelvis, back and, finally, the head. Alpine skiers had sideways (45%) and backwards pitching falls (35%), with impacts to the rear (38%) and side (35%) of the helmet. Freestyle skiers and snowboarders had backwards pitching falls (snowboard 77%, freestyle 53%), mainly with impacts to the rear of the helmet (snowboard 69%, freestyle 40%). There were three helmet ejections among alpine skiers (10% of cases), and 41% of alpine skiing injuries occurred due to inappropriate gate contact prior to falling. Athletes had one (47%) or two (28%) head impacts, and the first impact was the most severe (71%). Head impacts were mainly on snow (83%) on a downward slope (63%).ConclusionThis study has identified several characteristics of the mechanisms of head injuries, which may be addressed to reduce risk.

How do the new Olympic sports compare with the traditional Olympic sports? Injury and illness at the 2018 Youth Olympic Summer Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina

“…However, roller speed skating and the acrobatic BMX freestyle have elements similar to winter sports as snowboard and ski cross/slopestyle, and short track. There, acute knee, shoulder and head injuries typically are results of high energy,47–50 which gives substance to assume parallels in injury epidemiology. In the BA YOG, athletes’ injury risk in roller speed skating, kitesurfing or BMX freestyle did not differ significantly compared with the other sports.…”

Spinal injury in alpine winter sports: a review

“…Jump landing failure was the leading mechanism for spinal fractures amongst snowboarders [4, 5, 16, 23, 45, 47]. Snowboarders tend to fall backwards [48], which may result in axial loading leading to anterior compression fractures [4]. Steenstrup et al described a typical crash sequence in order of contact with the ground: snowboard, upper extremities, buttocks/pelvis, back, trunk/chest followed by the head [48].…”

“…Snowboarders tend to fall backwards [48], which may result in axial loading leading to anterior compression fractures [4]. Steenstrup et al described a typical crash sequence in order of contact with the ground: snowboard, upper extremities, buttocks/pelvis, back, trunk/chest followed by the head [48]. As in skiing, snowboarding on terrain slopes is a risk factor associated with spinal injury [11, 30, 49] [16, 23].…”

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“…The FIS has published a series of prospective injury reports and has conducted retrospective interviews to identify and prevent injury among elite athletes in snowsports. These studies covered injury epidemiology (Engebretsen et al, 2010;Ruedl et al, 2012;Soligard et al, 2015Soligard et al, , 2019Steffen et al, 2017;Watanabe et al, 2019), mechanism (Bere et al, 2011(Bere et al, , 2013Steenstrup et al, 2018) and causes and factors (Spörri et al, 2012). However, these previous studies were often limited to only one or a few events and disciplines.…”