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

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Systematic review
What are the risk factors for injuries and injury prevention strategies for skiers and snowboarders in terrain parks and half-pipes? A systematic review
  1. Olivier Audet1,
  2. Brent E Hagel2,3,4,
  3. Albertro Nettel-Aguirre2,3,4,
  4. Tatum Mitra2,
  5. Carolyn A Emery2,3,4,
  6. Alison Macpherson1,5,
  7. Marie Denise Lavoie6,
  8. Claude Goulet7
  1. 1 Department of Kinesiology, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Québec, Canada
  2. 2 Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  3. 3 Departments of Paediatrics and Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  4. 4 Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute and O’Brien Institute for Public Health, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  5. 5 School of Kinesiology and Health Science, Faculty of Health, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  6. 6 Library, Laval University, Québec, Canada
  7. 7 Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Education, Laval University, Québec, Canada
  1. Correspondence to Dr Claude Goulet, Department of Physical Education, Faculty of Education, Pavillon de l’Éducation physique et des sports, 2300, rue de la Terrasse, local 2176, Université Laval, Québec (Québec) G1V 0A6, Canada; claude.goulet{at}fse.ulaval.ca

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.

  • injury prevention
  • skiing
  • snowboarding
  • intervention effectiveness
  • risk factor

https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2018-099166

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors OA and CAE conducted the conception and design of the systematic review and the systematic review plan and registration (PROSPERO). OA and MDL built the search strategy used in databases. OA and TPM searched articles in databases and did the selection process. OA, CG and AM assessed the selection criteria. OA, BEH and CG contributed to the risk of bias assessment. OA, BEH, CG and AN-A were responsible for the interpretation of results. All authors contributed to the final systematic review plan (PROSPERO), reviewed the manuscript critically and gave final approval of the manuscript. OA was responsible for drafting the article.

    • Funding Funding for this systematic review of the literature comes from the ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur of Québec, Canada, and the Sports Injury Prevention Research Centre (SIPRC) of the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent Not required.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.