Paediatric injuries on an artificial ski slope

Sports injuries in children

Sports injuries in children affect both growing bone and soft tissues, and can result in damage of growth mechanisms with subsequent lifelong growth disturbance. During growth, there are significant changes in the biomechanical properties of bone. In young athletes, as bone stiffness increases and resistance to impact diminishes, sudden overload may cause bones to bow or buckle. Epiphyseal injuries are usually due to shearing and avulsion forces, although compression also plays a significant role. Given the remarkable healing potential of bone in childhood, fractures that initially united with some deformity can completely remodel, and the bone may appear totally normal in later life. Most injuries in children’s sports are minor and self-limiting, suggesting that children and youth sports are safe. However, as the risk of injuries sustained by young athletes can be significant, training programmes should take into account their physical and psychological immaturity, so that growing athletes can adjust to their own body’s changes.

Adult Hand Injuries on Artificial Ski Slopes

Artificial ski slope skiing is a popular sport in Great Britain with significant risk of injury. We reviewed 36 patients who had been treated for hand injuries excluding the wrist in our plastic surgery department over a 14-month period after skiing on an artificial ski slope. Specifically, they were 15 fractures of the digits, 3 dislocations of the finger joints, 7 ulnar collateral ligament injuries of the metacarpophalangeal joint of the thumb, and 11 bruises and abrasions. The mean age of the patients was 28 years, and there were 20 men and 16 women. It is concluded that the hardness of the surface of the artificial ski slopes could be responsible for the types of injuries.

Snow-related recreational injuries in children: assessment of morbidity and management strategies

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to investigate the causes, clinical course, and financial impact of snow-related sport injuries in children.

METHODS

Reports of snow-related injuries (skiing, toboganning, snowboarding) occurring in 147 consecutive children (< or =16 years of age) admitted from 1991 through 1997 were collected prospectively and assessed retrospectively. During the last year of the study, outpatients treated and released from the emergency department (1996 through 1997) were examined in parallel (n = 101). Total financial impact was determined from the aggregate hospital, rehabilitation, and societal costs.

RESULTS

One hundred thirty-seven patients (M:F, 2:1; mean age, 13 yrs) were admitted (toboggan [n = 74], ski [n = 59], snowboard [n = 16]), of which 66% occurred at licensed resorts, and 33% at parks or private property. There was one death. Although the pattern of injury was similar in all groups (head greater than long bone greater than intraabdominal injuries), mean injury severity scores (ISS) were significantly higher for snowboard injuries. Seventy-five percent of patients required at least one operation. Postdischarge, 15% of patients required institutional care. Of the 101 ambulatory patients (ski [n = 48], toboggan [n = 35], snowboard [n = 18]), 65% were injured at licensed resorts, and 56% required outpatient rehabilitation or home care. The per-patient costs were: hospital treatment, $27,936; outpatient services, $15,243; lost parental income, $1,500.

CONCLUSIONS

Snow sport injuries, particularly snowboarding, cause severe childhood morbidity. Helmet usage, training requirements, and regulation of licensed resorts may reduce the morbidity and staggering costs.