Cases of head injury during snowboarding

Abstract

It is said that by the end of the 1995-1996 skiing season, the number of snowboarders will have grown to almost 1 million in Japan. However, it is not generally recognized that snowboarders have a higher risk of serious head injuries than conventional skiers. So far, there have been no detailed epidemiological studies examining the spectrum of head injuries. Our aim in this study is to analyze the pattern and cause of head injuries associated with this relatively new sport. We analyzed 140 cases of trauma associated with snowboarding in the first half of the 1995-1996 skiing season treated at Suwa Central Hospital. Among them there were 26 cases of head and neck injury; 81% of the injured patients were male and the mean age was 22 (±2.6 SD) years. The majority (61%) were beginners and 45% of the cases were occipital trauma, and 15% were neck trauma. The most common symptoms were concussion (54%) and peritraumatic anmesia (31%). However 6 of the 26 patients had intracranial organic lesions visualized by CT scans. These comprised 2 cases of small parenchymal contusion, 2 cases of traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage, 1 case of acute epidural hematoma, 1 case of intracerebral hemorrhage according to avulsion of an arterial perforator. In comparison with injuries to the extremities due to forward falling and hitting the front of extremities, patients with head and neck injury had a tendency to fall backwards and strike the occipital and rear neck regions. As for injuries during jumping, 4 out of 6 beginners who had sustained injuries in this way had intracranial organic lesions visualized by CT scans. Appropriate snowboarding lessons given by certified instructors and the rise of protective devices such as occipital protective helmets are very important for preventing head injuries during snowboarding.