Factors associated with injury in Australian downhill skiers

The purpose of this study was to investigate various types of downhill skiing injury and determine the major factor(s) associated with injury in a group of downhill skiers, so that specific injury prevention strategies could be proposed. Thirty three injured downhill skiers with 35 injuries who presented to a physiotherapy clinic in an Australian ski resort during a single season were surveyed. Of the 35 injuries, 51 % were acute while 49% were a recurrence of a previous injury. Fifty six percent of the acute injuries involved the knee, while low back injury occurred in 47% of recurrent cases. Skiing‐specific pre‐season training had been completed by 8% of the subjects. None of the subjects conducted a thorough pre‐skiing warm‐up. Forty‐five percent of all injuries occurred during the first 2 hours of skiing. These findings suggest that downhill skiers need to be more widely educated about activity undertaken in preparation for skiing which should include strategies to prevent re‐injury particularly of th...