Upper extremity injuries in skiing

Abstract

In a six-year study, 1,711 ski injuries and 998 controls at Sugarbush North Ski Area were studied. Upper extremity injuries, which constituted 25% of all ski injuries, did not increase in frequency. Men and women were at equal risk of injury. When edging conditions were poor, upper extremity injuries were more common than lower extremity injuries. Forty percent of all upper extremity injuries involved the thumb (85% included injuries to the ulnar collateral ligament of the metacarpophalangeal joint). Twenty-five percent of 405 skiers interviewed had, at one time, injured their thumbs while skiing but only one-quarter of these reported their injury. Our study suggests that injury to the ulnar collateral ligament of the metacarpophalangeal joint may be the most frequent in skiing and that gripping the ski pole outside the strap may prevent these injuries.