PDF herunterladen
Semin Neurol 2000; 20(2): 233-246
DOI: 10.1055/s-2000-9833
Copyright © 2000 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA. Tel.: +1(212) 584-4662

Neurologic Injuries in Skiers and Snowboarders

A. Stewart Levy1,2 , Richard H. Smith2
  • 1Intermountain Neurosurgery, Denver, Colorado
  • 2St. Anthony Central Hospital, Denver, Colorado
Weitere Informationen

Publikationsverlauf

Publikationsdatum:
31. Dezember 2000 (online)

    Lizenzen und Reprints

ABSTRACT

Neurologic injures are the leading cause of death and disability in skiing and snowboarding accidents, despite accounting for only a small fraction of injuries overall. Head injuries make up 3 to 15% of all skiing and snowboarding related injuries, spinal injuries account for 1 to 13%, and peripheral nerve injuries constitute less than 1% of reported injuries. Improvements in equipment and technology, especially advances in binding technology, have resulted in decreased injury rates on the slopes overall, but neurologic injury rates have not decreased, and in fact appear to be increasing as a percentage of overall injuries and in absolute numbers. With advances in technology and slope maintenance, skiers and boarders progress to higher skill levels and faster speeds more rapidly than ever before. Great efforts have been focused on reducing extremity injuries in skiers and snowboarders, but until recently very little attention has been given to neurologic injury prevention on the slopes. Hopefully with increased awareness and the growing popularity of ski/snowboard helmets, we will begin to see head injury rates (and maybe even spine injury rates) decrease among skiers and snowboarders.

KEYWORD

Head injury - spine injury - peripheral nerve injury - neurologic injury - skiing - snowboarding

REFERENCES

  • 1 National Ski Areas Association. Facts about skiing/snowboarder safety (unpublished). Denver: National Ski Areas Association;1997
  • 2 Sherry E. Skiing injuries in Australia.  Med J Aust . 1984;  140 530-531
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 3 Bladin C, McCrory P. Snowboarding injuries: an overview.  Sports Med . 1995;  9(5) 358-364
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 4 Davidson T M, Laliotis A T. Alpine skiing injuries: a nine year study.  West J Med . 1996;  164 310-314
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 5 Davidson T M, Laliotis A T. Snowboarding injuries: a four-year study with comparison with alpine ski injuries.  West J Med . 1996;  164 231-232
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 6 Macnab A J, Codman R. Demographics of alpine skiing and snowboarding injury: lessons for prevention programs.  Inj Prev . 1996;  2 286-289
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 7 Sutherland A G, Holmes J D, Myers S. Differing injury patterns in snowboarding and alpine skiing.  Injury . 1996;  27 423-425
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 8 Deibert M C, Aronsson D D, Johnson R J, Ettlinger D F, Shealy J E. Skiing injuries in children, adolescents, and adults.  J Bone Joint Surg Am . 1998;  80 25-32
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 9 Morrow P L, McQuillen E N, Eaton L A, Bernstein, C J. Downhill ski fatalities: the Vermont experience.  J Trauma . 1988;  28 95-100
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 10 Colorado Trauma Institute and University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Ski and snowboard injuries.  Colorado Trauma Bulletin . 1995;  1 1
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 11 Furrer M, Erhart S, Frutiger A, Bereiter H, Leutenegger A, Ruedi T. Severe skiing injuries: a retrospective analysis of 361 patients including mechanism of trauma, severity of injury, and mortality.  J Trauma . 1995;  39 737-741
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 12 Shorter N A, Jensen P E, Harmon B J, Mooney D P. Skiing injuries in children and adolescents.  J Trauma . 1996;  40 997-1001
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 13 Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Health Statistics Section. Recreational fatalities in Colorado, 1993-1995. In: Health Statistics Brief; Number 8. Denver 1996
    Google Scholar
  • 14 Colorado Ski Country USA. Demographics of the Colorado skier: 1995-96 season (unpublished). Denver: Colorado Ski Country USA 1997
    Google Scholar
  • 15 Tough S C, Butt J C. A review of fatal injuries associated with downhill skiing.  Am J Forensic Med Pathol . 1993;  14 12-16
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 16 Sherry E, Clout L. Deaths associated with skiing in Australia: a 32-year study of cases from the Snowy Mountains.  Med J Aust . 1988;  149 615-616
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 17 Frymoyer J W, Pope M H, Kristiansen T. Skiing and spinal trauma.  Clin Sports Med . 1982;  1 309-318
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 18 Ungerholm S, Engkvist O, Gierup J, Lindsjo U, Balkfors B. Skiing injuries in children and adults: a comparative study from an 8-year period.  Int J Sports Med . 1983;  4 236-240
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 19 Blitzer C M, Johnson R J, Ettlinger C F, Aggeborn K. Downhill skiing injuries in children.  Am J Sports Med . 1984;  12 142-147
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 20 Reid D C, Saboe L. Spine fractures in winter sports.  Sports Med . 1989;  7 393-399
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 21 Sahlin Y. Alpine skiing injuries.  Br J Sports Med . 1989;  23 241-244
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 22 Myles S T, Mohtadi N G, Schnittker J. Injuries to the nervous system and spine in downhill skiing.  Can J Surg . 1992;  35 643-648
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 23 Sacco D E, Sartorelli D H, Vane D W. Evaluation of alpine skiing and snowboarding injury in a northeastern state.  J Trauma . 1998;  44 654-659
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 24 U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Skiing helmets: an evaluation of the potential to reduce head injury. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office; 1999. Available from: www.cpsc.gov/library/skihelm.pdf
  • 25 Tapper E M. Ski injuries from 1939 to 1976; The Sun Valley experience.  Am J Sports Med . 1978;  6 114-121
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 26 Nakaguchi H, Fujimaki T, Ueki K, Takahashi M, Yoshida H, Kirino T. Snowboard head injury: prospective study in Chino, Nagano, for two seasons from 1995 to 1997.  J Trauma . 1999;  46 1066-1069
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 27 Abu-Laban R. Snowboarding injuries: an analysis and comparison with alpine skiing injuries.  Can Med Assoc J . 1991;  145 1097-103
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 28 Prall J, Winston K, Brennan R. Severe snowboarding injuries.  Injury . 1995;  26 539-542
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 29 Sandegaard J, Eriksson B, Lundkvist S. Nationwide registration of ski injuries in Sweden. In: Mote CD, Johnson RJ, eds. Skiing Trauma and Safety Eighth International Symposium, ASTM STP 1104 Philadelphia: American Society for Testing and Materials 1991: 170-176
    Google Scholar
  • 30 Kelly P, Sanson T, Strange G, Orsay E. A prospective study of the impact of helmet usage on motorcycle trauma.  Ann Emerg Med . 1991;  20 852-856
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 31 U.S. Department of Transportation. NHTSA. The crash outcome data evaluation system (CODES). Technical Report Number HS 808 338, January 1996
  • 32 U.S. Department of Transportation. NHTSA.  Motorcycle helmets: the facts of life (brochure). HS 807 603, October 1996
    Google Scholar
  • 33 Thompson R S, Rivara F P, Thompson D C. A case-control study of the effectiveness of bicycle safety helmets.  N Engl J Med . 1989;  320 1361-1367
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 34 Thompson D C, Rivara F P, Thompson R S. Effectiveness of bicycle safety helmets in preventing head injuries: a case-control study.  JAMA . 1996;  276 1968-1973
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 35 Kip P, Hunter R E. Cervical spinal fractures in alpine skiers.  Orthopedics . 1995;  18 737-741
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 36 Prall J A, Winston K R, Brennan R. Spine and spinal cord injuries in downhill skiers.  J Trauma . 1995;  39 1115-1118
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 37 Oh S. Cervical injury from skiing.  Int J Sports Med . 1984;  5 268-271
    Artikel in Thieme ConnectPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 38 Levy A S. Spinal injuries in skiers and snowboarders. Oral presentation at Neurosurgery in the Rockies, Vail, CO, March 1999
    Google Scholar
  • 39 Carr D, Johnson R J, Pope M H. Upper extremity injuries in skiing.  Am J Sports Med . 1981;  9 378-383
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 40 Chow T K, Corbett S W, Farstad D J. Spectrum of injuries from snowboarding.  J Trauma . 1996;  41 321-325
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 41 Ekeland A, Holtmoen A, Lystad H. Lower extremity equipment-related injuries in alpine recreational skiers.  Am J Sports Med . 1993;  21 201-205
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 42 Engkvist O, Balkfors B, Lindsjo U. Thumb injuries in downhill skiing.  Int J Sports Med . 1982;  3 50-55
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 43 Harris J B. Neurologic injuries in skiing and winter sports in America. In: Jordan BD, Tsairis P, Warren RF, eds. Sports Neurology Rockville, MD: An Aspen Publication 1989: 295-304
    Google Scholar
  • 44 Kocher M S, Feagin J A. Shoulder injuries during alpine skiing.  Am J Sports Med . 1996;  24 665-669
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 45 Moller-Madsen B, Jakobsen B W, Villadsen I. Skiing injuries: a study from a Danish community.  Br J Sports Med . 1990;  24 123-124
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 46 Oydis U, Kopjar B. Occurrence and trends in ski injuries in Norway.  Br J Sports Med . 1998;  32 299-303
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 47 Sahlin Y. Alpine skiing injuries.  Br J Sports Med . 1989;  23 241-244
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 48 Sherry E, Fenelon L. Trends in skiing injury type and rates in Australia.  Med J Aust . 1991;  155 513-515
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 49 Krivickas L S, Wilbourn A J. Sports and peripheral nerve injuries: reports of 190 injuries evaluated in a single electromyography laboratory.  Muscle Nerve . 1998;  21 1092-1094
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 50 Nobel W. Peroneal palsy due to hematoma in the common peroneal nerve sheath after distal torsional fractures and inversion ankle sprains.  J Bone Joint Surg Am . 1966;  48 1484-1495
    CrossrefPubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 51 Lindenbaum B L. Ski boot compression syndrome.  Clin Orthop . 1979;  140 109-110
    PubMedGoogle Scholar
  • 52 Tsairis P. Peripheral nerve injury in athletes. In: Jordan BD, Tsairis P, Warren RF, eds. Sports Neurology Rockville, MD: An Aspen Publication 1989: 180-192
    Google Scholar