Snowboarding injuries in children

Objective: To study injury patterns of snowboarding trauma in children. Design: A retrospective case series. Setting: A major pediatric trauma centre. Patients: A cohort of 113 children (97 boys, 16 girls), mean age 13.9 years, who sustained 118 injuries secondary to snowboarding. Interventions: All fractures were treated by immobilization in a cast; 19 children required a closed reduction. Outcome measures: Sex and age of patients, mechanism of injury, injury, sustained, treatments and complications. Results: Falls on the outstretched hand from a loss of balance accounted for 66 (57%) of the injuries, uncontrolled falls for 42 (36%) and collisions for 5 (4%). Seventy-nine percent of the injuries were to the upper extremity, whereas 7% were to the lower extremity. Conclusions: The predominance of snowboarding injuries of the upper extremity seen in children differs significantly from those in adults in whom lower extremity injuries are more common.