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
