Injuries among children and adults in alpine skiing and snowboarding

Objectives: To compare the prevalence of injury sites between children and adults in alpine skiing and snowboarding. Design: Retrospective comparative study. Methods: The injuries occurring in 14 major Norwegian ski resorts were recorded by ski patrols the winter seasons 2010/2011 and 2011/2012. The injuries were related to age, equipment and other factors. Results: A total of 1603 injured children <= 12 years and 3202 injured adults >= 20 years were recorded. The prevalence of shoulder injuries was twice as high in adults as in children both in alpine skiers (14% vs. 7%) (p <0.001) and snowboarders (20% vs. 10%) (p <0.001). Also the prevalence of knee injuries were higher for adults than for children in skiing (30% vs. 22%) (p < 0.001) as well as in snowboarding (8% for vs. 4%) (p= 0.009). Both the prevalence of snowboarding wrist injuries and skiing lower leg fractures were higher among children than adults (32% vs. 18%, p <0.001 and 12.6% vs. 3.6%, p <0.001 respectively). More children than adult skiers suffered their injuries in terrain parks with 18% vs. 13% (p < 0.001). In contrast, more adult than child snowboarders (36% vs. 26%) (p= 0.007) suffered their injury in terrain parks. Conclusions: The prevalence of shoulder and knee injuries was higher in adults than in children both in skiing and boarding. In contrast, the prevalence of snowboarding wrist injuries and skiing lower leg fractures were higher in children than in adults. More children than adult alpine skiers suffered their injury in terrain parks, whereas the reverse was observed for snowboarders. (C) 2018 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.