Snowboarders are hurling themselves off 100ft. jumps and it seems like injury is part of the sport.
According to Dr. Polousky of the Rocky Mountain Youth Sports Medicine Institute, injuries in extreme sports such as these are more like injuries you would see in car accidents.
Snowboarding Injuries
Dr. Herman A. Motz is a board certified orthopedic surgeon with a specialty in sports medicine at HealthONE's Rose Medical Center in Denver.
SB What types of injuries are the most common? Are there injuries that are specific to Snowboarders vs. skiers?
Dr. Motz With snowboarders, we see more issues with the upper extremities, such as clavicle and shoulder injuries, and the most common injury is wrist fractures from falling forward on the wrist. For skiers, the biggest issue is knee injuries, like twisting injuries to the knee that cause meniscal cartilage tears or the more severe ACL tears. Also, even with better ski boots and equipment these days, we still see a lot of tibia fractures in skiers.
SB What is the recovery process and time line for specific injuries?
Dr. Motz Most of the time wrist and clavicle fractures are treated non-operatively. Those injuries typically require a cast, and we try to minimize the time in a cast because stiffness can be a big problem afterwards. There are some new surgical techniques for wrist fractures that are much better than older methods, and they don't really require any immobilization. So with surgical treatment for wrist injuries, athletes can usually be back competing pretty quickly.
Clavicle fractures are similar. Historically, most clavicle fractures have been treated non-operatively, and still the vast majority is treated without surgery. But the higher the level of the athletes, the sooner they want to get back to doing their sport. If we operate and put a plate and screw in the clavicle to assist the recovery, they can start doing activities much quicker than if it was treated non-operatively.
One thing to note is that athletes at this level have injuries that can be much more involved because of the complexity and energy in what they do. So they tend to require surgery more frequently than within the general population.
For skiers, almost always, torn menisci injuries are treated with surgery because they don't heal on their own. Sometimes the tear is small enough that it doesn't give the athlete problems, but that tear tends to get bigger and bigger over time. So it is better to repair the tear when it is smaller and more manageable.
There are two types of treatments for meniscal cartilage injuries; repairing them where we actually stitch the tear, or the meniscectomy where we remove it. It is better to repair it, because the more cartilage you remove from the knee, the more at risk you are for arthritis later in life. Especially in a young person, we want to repair it if we can. There is a little more recovery time if we repair because we have to give it time to heal. If we just trim out the torn cartilage, you can get back as soon as you feel like strong enough. With the repair, recovery averages 12 weeks.
An ACL injury does not heal on its own and is always treated operatively. Since we have to repair the entire ligament, recovery time is long and requires physical therapy and strengthening to regain full range of motion. We may let athletes ski around five months after surgery, but most athletes say that don't feel normal until about a year after injury.
SB What are the long consequences of knee injuries and surgery?
Dr. Motz The long term consequence of a knee injury or surgery is recurrence. With ACL injuries, you can get recurrent instability, the graph can stretch out, you can reinjure, etc. But actually, if you look among the population at large and look at athletes, you are more likely to injury the other knee because of overcompensating for the injured knee.
SB How to prevent injuries? Training, braces, protective gear?
Dr. Motz For the elite athlete and the recreational snowboarder, the most important thing is to be prepared. Participate in a strengthen program throughout the year to minimize injury when you're snowboarding.
For the elite athletes, snowboarding is a year-round sport. They are training off the hill just as much as they are on the snow. In the past, coaches and trainers strongly focused on quad strength for skiing development. However, over the recent years they have seen a success incorporating hamstring, balance and flexibility exercises to help create overall knee strength.
For at all levels, helmets are extremely necessary. With the elite athletes, traveling at high speeds and flying into the air increases the risk of concussions. And even for the recreational snowboarder, helmets are always a good protective measure.
For a riders coming back after an ACL surgery, a knee brace is a very good idea because it will help increase stability.
For snowboarders, to avoid wrist injuries try to teach yourself to fall on your elbows. When falling backwards, keep your hand in front of you and point your elbows backwards. Wrist guards are also a method of injury prevention for snowboarders, and glove manufactures are also beginning to make gloves with integrated wrist protection. Wrist guards made for inline skating and skateboarding can also work for snowboarding.
SB What is the medium age of athletes incurring these severe injuries?
Dr. Motz While injuries can happen at any age, young adults appear to be more susceptible to severe injuries because of their more active lifestyle.
SB Are the general free-ride snowboarders seeing an increasing trend in these types of severe injuries?
Dr. Motz The injuries within the general free-ride snowboarding population range from small slips to high impact crashes. Beginner snowboarders tend to have more injuries because they haven't learned how to maintain a stable stance yet, and they are more likely to lose their balance and fall.
The instinctive reaction during a fall is to reach out your hands to break the landing, but that often causes injury to the hand, wrist and shoulder.
In general, with recreational snowboarders we see a lot of injuries occurring late in the afternoon, when people are fatigued. So it's best to recognize when you're tired and end your day instead of going for one more run.
SB What can Snowboarding.com do to help?
Dr. Motz Snowboarding is a high energy sport, which at times can cause injury. The best advice for snowboarders of all levels is to be prepared. Get out there and have fun, but know your limits and be prepared.
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