If you’re preparing for a skiing holiday, then it’s an exciting time as you plan for your days on the slopes. Still, it’s important to ensure you pack the right skiing equipment to make your skiing experience as safe as it possibly can be.
It’s also important to note that ski injuries are not very common and that this is a safe sport, but it is worth spending some time researching how to prevent ski injuries before setting off, in order to make your trip to a ski resort in Andorra as enjoyable and relaxing as possible.
Here, in this guide to the most common ski injuries, we’ll provide some statistics about rates and the most common ski injuries. This will then help you to be fully aware and to avoid issues such as ski jumping accidents when you’re next taking part in a winter sports escape.
Ski injuries: Can you get hurt skiing? How easy is it to get injured while skiing?
It is possible to get hurt while skiing, so it’s important to be aware of the risks before taking to the slopes, however major injuries in skiing are extremely rare. How rare? Well, a widely shared 2022 report from the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) answered the question of what percentage of skiers suffer a major injury while skiing, as this report showed that there are just 44 catastrophic ski injuries per 55.8 million skier days, which works out at a rate of just 0.79 catastrophic ski injuries per one million skier days.
Besides these very rare worst ski injuries, more minor ski injuries are, logically, more common, but even these can be avoided with some ski injury prevention exercises.
The seven most common ski injuries: At which parts of the body do most ski injuries occur?
There are a few different types of downhill skiing injury examples, but the answer to the question of ‘How do most people get injured skiing?’ is knee ski injuries. There are two types of knee issues that feature in the list of the seven most common ski injuries, which is as follows:
- ACL rupture or sprain
- MCL rupture or sprain
- Head injury (such as a concussion or whiplash)
- Torn rotator cuff
- Wrist fracture
- Thumb fracture
- Shoulder sprain, fracture or dislocation
Knee ski injuries: Why are knee ski injuries the most common? What percentage of skiers tear their ACL?
Knee issues are the most common ski injuries and, of the most common ski injuries in the knee, ACL and MCL tears are the most frequently experienced. ACL and MCL injuries account for approximately 30% of all injuries in skiing. The reason why these knee ligaments are at higher risk of injury is because of the torsional forces that go through a skier’s knees.
In terms of what percentage of skiers tear their ACL specifically, some reports have placed this diagnosis at 15% to 21% of all injuries in skiing.
How to prevent knee injuries skiing: Can the common ski injuries in the knee be avoided?
The fact that we know that ACL and MCL are the most common ski injuries is useful for developing understanding of how to prevent these injuries.
You can reduce the risk of knee ski injuries by improving your lower leg strength, by stretching before taking to the slopes, by wearing the right boots and by taking ski lessons for your first ever experience of the sport. All these tips can help reduce the risk of you suffering a skiing injury when enjoying your next getaway.