Knee injuries in winter sports

Abstract

Winter sports represent a relevant entity for knee injuries due to their great popularity. In alpine skiing and snowboarding, knee joint injuries are the most common affected body regions, while in ice hockey they are in third place. Various accident mechanisms lead to different injury types and severities. In addition to medial collateral ligament injuries, anterior cruciate ligament injuries are of particular importance. In professional sports, severe combination injuries are more common. Therapy is exemplified using the anterior cruciate ligament rupture. The gold standard is replacement ligament surgery. The return-to-sport rate of 80% for skiing and snowboarding is comparable to summer sports such as football, basketball or baseball. For ice hockey, it is even better. Prevention is possible by targeted training programs, but also by optimizing the equipment and its adjustment.