title: Factors associated with injuries occurred on slope intersections and in snow parks compared to on-slope injuries.
abstract: In alpine winter sports, external risk factors as snow and weather conditions as well as slope characteristics (width, steepness, slope intersections, and snow parks) should be considered when investigating potential risk factors. Therefore, ski patrol injury reports were used to compare factors associated with injuries occurred on slope intersections and in snow parks compared to on-slope injuries. Multivariate regression analysis revealed that in comparison to injuries occurring on ski slopes, collisions with other persons (OR: 2.1, 95% CI: 1.3-3.4) and arm injuries (OR: 2.1, 95% CI: 1.3-3.5) were more likely associated with injuries occurring on slope intersections while male gender (OR: 3.5, 95% CI: 2.1-5.7), younger age (OR: 1.1, 95% CI: 1.0-1.1), slushy/soft snow conditions (OR: 1.9, 95% CI: 1.1-3.3), knee injuries (OR: 0.4, 95% CI: 0.2-0.8) and back injuries (OR: 5.5, 95% CI: 3.0-10.2) were more likely associated with injuries which occurred in snow parks. In conclusion, injuries on slope intersections and in snow parks differ in some factors from injuries sustained on ski slopes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, Austria. gerhard.ruedl@uibk.ac.at
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ruedl
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kopp
authors.forename: Renate
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sommersacher
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Woldrich
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Burtscher
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001317:Austria / Q000453:epidemiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012914:Snow; D038161:Snow Sports / Q000293:injuries*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014887:Weather