Alpine skiing injuries

Abstract

Alpine skiing accidents admitted to the Trondheim Regional and University Hospital during one year were recorded. Of the 339 injured, 67 per cent were male and 33 per cent were female. Eighty-seven per cent were outpatients, and 13 per cent were hospitalized. Falling accidents (67 per cent), followed by collision accidents (17 per cent), were the most common cause of injury. The injuries in the lower extremities were caused by falling and the head injuries were mostly casued by collisions. Knee ligament strains were the most common injuries, and 17 per cent of these were hospitalized and required operative treatment. Of the minor knee strains, all 44 per cent were not fully recovered after two and a half years. Seventeen patients sustained tibial fractures, eleven of them spiral fractures and six transverse fractures. The patients with spiral fractures were younger than the patients with transverse fractures. Head injuries were the most severe injuries, with eleven concussions and two epidural haematomas. © 1989.