title: Effects of modern ski equipment on the overall injury rate and the pattern of injury location in Alpine skiing.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify whether the introduction of carving skis and related equipment has altered the overall injury rate and/or the pattern of injury location.
  
  
  METHODS
  Comparative case series.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the winter season of 1997-98, when carving skis began to appear on the ski market, all injured skiers requiring evacuation or medical treatment in 70 Austrian ski areas were recorded. Five years later, when most skiers were using carving skis, ski injury data were collected in a representative sample consisting of 5 ski areas from the first study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data collection on injured skiers included subject demographics, weather and snow conditions, mechanism of the skiing accident, the type of ski used, injury location, and in the second study, additionally the date of the last ski binding adjustment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Frequency of injured body parts.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 1997-98, 1.43 injuries per 1000 skier days were calculated. Out of 17,914 injured alpine skiers, 29.5% of the injured men and 53.0% of the injured women suffered knee injuries. Five years later with the introduction of carving skis, the overall injury rate decreased by 9% but the gender-specific percentages of knee injuries did not change. Female carving skiers not using newly adjusted bindings had a higher risk of knee injury than those with newly adjusted bindings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The maintenance of adequate binding adjustment is especially important for the prevention of knee injuries in female carving skiers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria. martin.burtscher@uibk.ac.at
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Burtscher
authors.forename: Hannes
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gatterer
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Flatz
authors.forename: Renate
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sommersacher
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Woldrich
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ruedl
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hotter
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Nachbauer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012865:Skiing / Q000293:injuries*; D019876:Sports Equipment / Q000009:adverse effects