Prevalence of chronic musculoskeletal spinal injuries in the sport of artificial track luge

Injuries in Skating and Sledding Winter Sports: Patterns and Imaging Findings

“…Up to half of riders can experience a chronic mild to moderate musculoskeletal spinal injury during their career. 20 The most common are sprains and intervertebral disk injuries, mostly due to repetitive forward bending at the start and repetitive load during training. Morison et al 20 found an annual rate of musculoskeletal injuries of the spine of 0.13 injuries per athlete per year, predominantly in the cervical and lumbar segments.…”

“…20 The most common are sprains and intervertebral disk injuries, mostly due to repetitive forward bending at the start and repetitive load during training. Morison et al 20 found an annual rate of musculoskeletal injuries of the spine of 0.13 injuries per athlete per year, predominantly in the cervical and lumbar segments. The same author 21 studied the kinematics of the lumbar spine during the pull phase of the luge start, analyzing the explosive flexion and extension of hip and spine used to achieve maximal power.…”