How to Prevent Injuries in Alpine Ski Racing: What Do We Know and Where Do We Go from Here?

Hildebrandt

et al. 2017

OAJSM

BackgroundStudies on injuries and illnesses involving youth ski racers younger than 15 years are lacking in the literature. The aim of this study was prospectively to assess the incidence, prevalence, and severity of traumatic and overuse injuries, as well as illnesses of elite youth ski racers with regard to sex, biological maturity status, and relative age.Subjects and methodsA prospective, longitudinal cohort design was used to monitor the anthropometrics, training characteristics, traumatic and overuse injuries, and illnesses of 82 elite youth ski racers (51 males, 31 females, age 9–14 years) over 2 consecutive years. The exact training exposure (skiing and athletic) was recorded. Relative age and estimated biological maturity status were assessed.ResultsRelatively low injury incidence or prevalence (traumatic, 0.86/1,000 hours of training; overuse, 0.28/1,000 hours) and comparably high illness prevalence (2.4/athlete) were reported. The knee was the most commonly affected body part (traumatic injuries 36.5%, overuse injuries 82%). A high number of bone fractures were revealed (46%), while no stress fractures occurred; 66% of the illnesses were respiratory tract infections. No differences were found between males and females, the differing maturity groups, or relative age quartiles. Early-maturing athletes had comparably low traumatic and overuse-injury rates. Relatively younger athletes had low traumatic injury rates.ConclusionThe injury-prevention measures implemented in the training process of youth ski racers seem to contribute to a low incidence of injury. Biological maturity status should be considered in the training process to prevent injuries in late-maturing athletes.

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 55%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Injuries and illnesses in a cohort of elite youth alpine ski racers and the influence of biological maturity and relative age: a two-season prospective study

Hildebrandt

et al. 2017

OAJSM

“…In recent years, substantial research efforts concerning injury causes and prevention measures have been undertaken (Spörri et al, 2016b). However, most alpine ski racing-related research has focused on traumatic injuries, while overuse injuries have received little attention (Supej et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since a combination of these factors is known to be related to high spinal disc loading (Nachemson, 1981; Wilke et al, 1999; Haid and Fischler, 2013), and has been suggested to be attributable to different types of spine deteriorations (Rachbauer et al, 2001; Hangai et al, 2009), they may be considered important mechanisms leading to overuse injuries of the back in alpine ski racing (Spörri et al, 2015a,b, 2016a). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Use of Body Worn Sensors for Detecting the Vibrations Acting on the Lower Back in Alpine Ski Racing

et al. 2017

Self Cite

This study explored the use of body worn sensors to evaluate the vibrations that act on the human body in alpine ski racing from a general and a back overuse injury prevention perspective. In the course of a biomechanical field experiment, six male European Cup-level athletes each performed two runs on a typical giant slalom (GS) and slalom (SL) course, resulting in a total of 192 analyzed turns. Three-dimensional accelerations were measured by six inertial measurement units placed on the right and left shanks, right and left thighs, sacrum, and sternum. Based on these data, power spectral density (PSD; i.e., the signal's power distribution over frequency) was determined for all segments analyzed. Additionally, as a measure expressing the severity of vibration exposure, root-mean-square (RMS) acceleration acting on the lower back was calculated based on the inertial acceleration along the sacrum's longitudinal axis. In both GS and SL skiing, the PSD values of the vibrations acting at the shank were found to be largest for frequencies below 30 Hz. While being transmitted through the body, these vibrations were successively attenuated by the knee and hip joint. At the lower back (i.e., sacrum sensor), PSD values were especially pronounced for frequencies between 4 and 10 Hz, whereas a corresponding comparison between GS and SL revealed higher PSD values and larger RMS values for GS. Because vibrations in this particular range (i.e., 4 to 10 Hz) include the spine's resonant frequency and are known to increase the risk of structural deteriorations/abnormalities of the spine, they may be considered potential components of mechanisms leading to overuse injuries of the back in alpine ski racing. Accordingly, any measure to control and/or reduce such skiing-related vibrations to a minimum should be recognized and applied. In this connection, wearable sensor technologies might help to better monitor and manage the overall back overuse-relevant vibration exposure of athletes in regular training and or competition settings in the near future.

“…Recently, a nonsystematic narrative review was conducted on the general topic of injury prevention in elite alpine ski racing 22. Given the paucity of studies contributing higher level evidence on ACL injury in alpine ski racing, and a larger emphasis on qualitative research studies, a nonsystematic narrative review was deemed the most appropriate methodology for the present review.…”

Section: Methodsologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Anterior cruciate ligament injury/reinjury in alpine ski racing: a narrative review

Jordan¹,

Aagaard²

2017

OAJSM

The purpose of the present review was to: 1) provide an overview of the current understanding on the epidemiology, etiology, risk factors, and prevention methods for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in alpine ski racing; and 2) provide an overview of what is known pertaining to ACL reinjury and return to sport after ACL injury in alpine ski racing. Given that most of the scientific studies on ACL injuries in alpine ski racing have been descriptive, and that very few studies contributed higher level scientific evidence, a nonsystematic narrative review was employed. Three scholarly databases were searched for articles on ACL injury or knee injury in alpine ski racing. Studies were classified according to their relevance in relation to epidemiology, etiology, risk factors, and return to sport/reinjury prevention. Alpine ski racers (skiers) were found to be at high risk for knee injuries, and ACL tears were the most frequent diagnosis. Three primary ACL injury mechanism were identified that involved tibial internal rotation and anteriorly directed shear forces from ski equipment and the environment. While trunk muscle strength imbalance and genetics were found to be predictive of ACL injuries in development-level skiers, there was limited scientific data on ACL injury risk factors among elite skiers. Based on expert opinion, research on injury risk factors should focus on equipment design, course settings/speed, and athlete factors (eg, fitness). While skiers seem to make a successful recovery following ACL injury, there may be persistent neuromuscular deficits. Future research efforts should be directed toward prospective studies on ACL injury/reinjury prevention in both male and female skiers and toward the effects of knee injury on long-term health outcomes, such as the early development of osteoarthritis. International collaborations may be necessary to generate sufficient statistical power for ACL injury/reinjury prevention research in alpine ski racing.