Citation

Bailly N, Afquir S, Laporte JD, Melot A, Savary D, Seigneuret E, Delay JB, Donnadieu T, Masson C, Arnoux PJ. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 2016; 49(1): 1-10.

Affiliation

1Laboratory of Applied Biomechanics, UMRT24 IFSTTAR- Université de la Méditerranée, Marseille, France; 2Salomon S.A.S., Annecy, France; 3"Médecins de Montagne" association, Chambéry, France; 4Department of Neurosurgery, Hôpital Nord, Marseille, France; 5Department of Mobile Emergency and Intensive Care Units, Annecy Hospital, Annecy, France; 6Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital of Grenoble, Grenoble, France.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1249/MSS.0000000000001078

PMID

27580147

Abstract

PURPOSE: Mechanisms of injury and description of head impacts leading to traumatic brain injury (TBI) in skiers and snowboarders have not been extensively documented. We investigate snow-sport crashes leading to TBI in order to (1) Identify typical mechanisms leading to TBI to better target prevention measures and (2) Identify the injury mechanisms and the head impact conditions.

METHODS: The subjects were skiers and snowboarders diagnosed of TBI and admitted between 2013 and 2015 to one of the 15 medical offices and 3 hospital centers involved in the study. The survey includes the description of the patients (age, sex, practice, skill-level, and helmet use), of the crash (type, location, estimated speed, causes, and fall description) and of the injuries sustained (symptoms, head trauma scores, other injuries). Sketches were used to describe the crash and impact locations. Clustering methods were used to distinguish profiles of injured participants.

RESULTS: 295 skiers and 71 snowboarders were interviewed. The most frequent type of mechanism was falls (54%), followed by collision between users (18%), and jumps (15%). Collision with obstacle (13%) caused the most serious TBI. 3 categories of patients were identified. First, men aged 16-25 years are more involved in crash at high speed or in connection with a jump. Second, women, children (<16 years) and beginners are particularly injured in collisions between users. Third, aged more than 50 years, usually non-helmeted, are frequently involved in falls. Ten crash scenarios were identified. Falling head first is the most frequent of skiers' falls (28%).

CONCLUSION: Crash scenarios leading to TBI were identified and associated with profiles of injured participants. Those results should help to better target TBI prevention and protection campaigns.

Language: en