[Alpine skiing--accident--and equipment studies].

Abstract

According to medical statistics over the last two decades, skiing is still associated with a certain risk of accident and injury. A review of studies carried out in Davos on alpine skiing accidents covering two decades aimed at assessing the effect of safety improvements in ski bindings combined with ski shoes and skis in view of injury statistics. Five comprehensive research studies included almost 10,000 injured and non-injured skiers and experience with nearly 29,000 injured skiers treated the Davos hospital. Firstly, the causes and preceptating factors of skiing accidents were determined and the role of binding release tests assessed. Then the effect of the skier on the accident was investigated. The function of ski binding adjustments was also studied. In a fourth step comprehensive data on multicentric research project were obtained. With the growing popularity of safety bindings in the 1970's and the results of research projects, the frequency of skiing accidents seemed to diminish or at least stagnate. The annual statistics from 1974 to 93 show a reduction in the frequency of tibial fractures and simultaneous rapid increase in the frequency of injuries of the knee joint, the upper limbs and the trunk. The situation demonstrate that measurements to control the accident rate cannot be based only on accident statistics and technical developments, but must rely on further studies of the mechanism of the fall and analyses of the long-term consequences of injuries.