Skiing Injuries: Clinical Study

A clinical study of 684 consecutive skiing injuries, all those observed during the 1960-61 season at a New England resort, provided data on frequency of specific types of injuries and on variations in type with age, sex, and skiing experience. Sprains were the most common injury, the ankle and knee the most frequent sites. Twenty-five percent of knee sprains were associated with a sprain or a fracture of an ankle, a syndrome which has been observed elsewhere. Fractures of the lateral malleolus accounted for 34 percent of fractures and 12 percent of all injuries. Eleven percent of the injuries were lacerations and abrasions. With increasing age there was a shift from fractures of the tibial shaft alone to fractures of both tibial and fibular shafts. Ankle fractures as opposed to tibial fractures were uncommon among the young members of the case series, but they increased markedly with advancing age. Since fractures from causes other than skiing accidents have also been shown to exhibit this pattern, these shifts may reflect fundamental age differences in injury thresholds. In addition, there were shifts in type of injury with sex and expertise. The data provided no evidence of a relationship between rates of application of force and type of injury, but such a relationship is possible.