THE SKIING PATIENT: INJURY STATISTICS AND PROFILES Skiing is an increasingly popular and diverse activity combining downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, snowboarding, and freestyle skiing. The playing field has also changed significantly, moving from “bumpy” slopes to “boulevards” with increasingly steep gradients and therefore higher speeds, leading to a sharp increase in injuries.
The study on winter sports accidents, conducted each year by Médecins de Montagne (Epidemiological Network for the Observation of Winter Sports Accidents, 2023-2024 season report), provides telling figures:
Figures and incidence The incidence of injury risk represents an average of 2.6 injuries per 1,000 skier-days.
Profile Beginners on easy slopes are twice as likely to be injured, but the most serious injuries (head or spinal trauma) mainly occur on difficult slopes due to a combination of speed and lack of technical skill.
Number of injuries 136,700 for the 2023-24 season across the French mountains. 83% of skiers and 13% of snowboarders, with an average age of 31.
Periods Injuries are also more frequent at the end of the day or at the end of a trip.
Injury profile 40% sprains (mainly ACL) and 25% fractures.
Professional skiers are also prone to overuse or muscle imbalance conditions such as patellar tendinopathy, lumbar spine pain, or Dorsalgia. Faced with this growth in increasingly serious pathologies and impatient patients, it is important to review treatment methods and adapt practices to new technologies. More and more studies show that early treatment leads to better and more lasting recovery. The use of innovative therapies such as photobiomodulation, established therapies like shockwave therapy (ESWT), and proven therapies such as electrostimulation make this possible. This e-book, dedicated to the three main pathologies affecting skiers, will allow us to consider different treatment methods. Then, importantly, to understand how to use and combine the various therapies available to us. Each intervention needs to be administered at a given time, depending on the presentation and the desired outcome. When interventions are combined, they accelerate treatment and reduce the failure rate. Of course, all these technologies will be used in combination with rehabilitation and manual therapy if necessary, under the supervision of a doctor or surgeon. Whether you are treating beginners, experienced skiers, or professionals, the approach remains the same: adaptation.
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