title: Shoulder injuries during alpine skiing.
abstract: We retrospectively reviewed alpine skiing injuries at a destination ski resort during three seasons to characterize the incidence and types of shoulder injuries. A total of 3451 injuries in 3247 patients were reviewed. The overall injury rate was 4.44 injuries per 1000 skier-days. Injuries to the upper extremity represented 29.1% (N = 1004) of all alpine ski injuries. Injuries involving the shoulder complex (393 injuries in 350 patients) accounted for 39.1% of upper extremity injuries and 11.4% of all alpine skiing injuries. The rate of shoulder injury was 0.51 injuries per 1000 skier-days. Patients with shoulder injuries had a mean age of 35.4 years, and the male-to-female ratio of these patients was 3:1. Falls represented the most common mechanism of shoulder injury (93.9%) in addition to collisions with skiers (2.8%), pole planning (2.3%), and collisions with trees (1%). The most common shoulder injuries were rotator cuff strains (24.2%), anterior glenohumeral dislocations or subluxations (21.6%), acromioclavicular separations (19.6%), and clavicle fractures (10.9%). Less common shoulder injuries included greater tuberosity fractures (6.9%), trapezius muscle strains (6.4%), proximal humeral fractures (3.3%), biceps tendon strains (2.3%), glenoid fractures (1.5%), scapular fractures (1%), humeral head fractures (1%), sternoclavicular separations (0.5%), an acromial fracture (0.3%), a posterior glenohumeral dislocation (0.3%), and a biceps tendon dislocation (0.3%).
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kocher
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Feagin
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000059:Accidents / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000173:Acromioclavicular Joint / Q000293:injuries; D000174:Acromion / Q000293:injuries; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001134:Arm Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D002968:Clavicle / Q000293:injuries; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D004204:Joint Dislocations / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D000070636:Rotator Cuff Injuries; D012540:Scapula / Q000293:injuries; D012737:Sex Factors; D012783:Shoulder Dislocation / Q000453:epidemiology; D012784:Shoulder Fractures / Q000453:epidemiology; D000070599:Shoulder Injuries; D012865:Skiing / Q000293:injuries* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013180:Sprains and Strains / Q000453:epidemiology; D013247:Sternoclavicular Joint / Q000293:injuries; D013708:Tendon Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D014959:Wyoming / Q000453:epidemiology