What are the risk factors for injuries and injury prevention strategies for skiers and snowboarders in terrain parks and half-pipes? A systematic review

Abstract

Objective: To synthesise the current evidence regarding the risk factors, the injury prevention strategies and the profile of injured skiers and snowboarders in terrain parks (TPs) and half-pipes (HPs).

Design: Systematic review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines.

Data sources: Literature searches from six electronic databases and manual searches were performed.

Eligibility criteria for selecting studies: Inclusion criteria were: (1) publication based on original data; (2) injuries sustained in TPs or HPs; (3) recreational skiing or snowboarding injuries; (4) observational or experimental study design with a comparison group.

Results: No study explored the risk factors in HPs or the prevention strategies in TPs or HPs. From the literature retrieved, there is strong evidence that skiing or snowboarding in a TP is a risk factor for head, neck, back and severe injuries. Two papers assessed the risk factors for injuries in TPs, mainly demonstrating that features promoting aerial manoeuvres or a large drop to the ground were associated with higher feature-specific injury rates. The profile of injured skiers and snowboarders in TPs described in the literature suggested some evidence of associations between factors including activity, sex, skill level, helmet use, age and TP injuries.

Summary/conclusions: This systematic review demonstrates the need for studies identifying the risk factors for injuries to skiers and snowboarders and on interventions to reduce the risk of injury in TPs and HPs. Studies addressing the issue of TP design should be considered.

Prospero registration number: CRD42016045206.

Keywords: injury prevention; intervention effectiveness; risk factor; skiing; snowboarding.