{"id":9587,"date":"2023-01-24T16:09:29","date_gmt":"2023-01-24T14:09:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediterraneohospital.gr\/en3\/?p=9587"},"modified":"2023-07-13T16:52:34","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T13:52:34","slug":"ski-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mediterraneohospital.gr\/en3\/ski-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Ski Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"M.D. Heracles I. Patsopoulos, Orthopaedic Surgeon, Head of the Athletic Trauma Clinic, Mediterraneo Hospital<\/strong><\/p>\n

What we need to be careful for during activities in the mountain and the ski centre.<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to recent data by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, every year 15% of those taking on skiing are injured<\/strong> and transferred to health clinics, while statistically it has been observed that 70% of these injuries happen at the end of a day.<\/strong> Tiredness often seems to be the cause behind this, since people go the extra mile to finish up their work out. During the last years, there has been a great increase in snowboard related injuries.<\/strong> If an injury occurs, involving a fall or even without one, the winter athlete needs to stop their activity, even if they don\u2019t feel acute pain, since the body is still warm. They need to rest for at least half a day and if the pain persists they need to seek ot medical advice.<\/p>\n

The most usual injuries are meniscus tears, tears of the ligaments of the anterior cruciate ligament and the medial collateral ligament, injuries of the spinal cord, pelvis fractures, dislocations and fractures of the shoulder, the elbow and the fingers and toes, as well as multiple strains and tears of muscles and tendons,<\/strong> which constitute slightly less serious damage. Burns due to friction<\/strong> are also often. The most important damage are craniocerebral injuries<\/strong> which also have the worst prognosis<\/strong>. The most usual snowboard injuries are injuries at the wrist, while the most usual skiing injuries have to do with the lower limbs and mainly the anterior cruciate ligament.<\/p>\n

Head injuries are approximately 28% of skiing injuries and 33.5% of snowboarding injuries. In total, 22% of head trauma is serious enough to cause clinical symptoms of concussion, while 88% of all deaths occurring following skiing and snowboarding accidents are due to craniocerebral injuries.<\/strong> Fractures of the hip are more serious, while common among people over the age of 60 due to osteoporosis, and they call for hospital admission and surgical operation.<\/p>\n

The low temperature causes muscles and blood vessels to contract, lowers stamina and increases the possibilities of painful muscle contraction which increases the danger of injuries. An important precautionary measure is warm up before engaging in any athletic activity in the snow<\/strong>, which needs to be followed by a simple stretching routine so that the muscles are not \u201ccold\u201d when you start going downhill on any means. If such a precaution is not taken, the chance for ligament or muscle strains is great.<\/strong> The speed at which one slides down the snow or the intensity with which one stops their course downhill when skiing demand great muscle strength and ligament stability.<\/p>\n

Appropriate equipment<\/strong> in every sport constitutes the cornerstone in preventing injuries, foremost among which is the use of a helmet<\/strong>, as shown in the above. An overview of the literature regarding the efficiency of the use of a helmet in mitigating head injuries in snow sport athletes proved the unequivocal priority of the use of a helmet in mitigating risk as well as the severity of cranial injuries in said athletes. The use of a helmet should be MANDATORY for children.<\/strong> Ideally, the helmet needs to be aligned with the European (EN 1077) or American (SnellRS98 or ASTMF2040) standards.<\/p>\n

Modern ski boots are designed to provide exceptional control and support, therefore limiting the range of movement of the ankle joint. Ski straps are now adjustable depending on the weight, the height, the age and the speed and they are calibrated at the beginning of each season. A tight ski strap<\/strong> (which fails to be released during a usual fall) leads to a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament three times more often in comparison to a more lax ski strap<\/strong>. Falling at a low speed and backwards results in a higher chance of ski straps not being released.<\/p>\n

Snowboard straps, contrary to those of recreational skiing, are not releasable, while there are two main types of snowboard boots: the soft ones and the hard ones. Each boot type exerts different forces upon the foot and the lower limp and many studies have shown that, when snowboarding, 50% of injuries at the lower limps are associated with the type of boot used. Hard boots expose snowboarders to the risk of a fractured shin and fibula at the top of the boot (know as boot top fracture) and double the risk of a knee injury as compared to soft boots.<\/strong> However, soft boots expose snowboarders to double the risk of ankle injury<\/strong> as compared to hard boots.<\/p>\n

The rules to follow unfailingly when moving outside the pistes of the ski centre are:<\/strong><\/p>\n