A 5-year review of skiing injuries in the Aspen/Snowmass area revealed
18 cervical fractures, This represents a yearly average of 3.6 fractu
res (range: 2 to 5), There were 16 men and 2 women identified, with an
average age of 40.8 years (range: 20 to 73), Using estimates of skier
days and total injuries, cervical fractures represented approximately
0.1% of all skiing injuries, Six of 18 injuries (33%) were avulsion i
njuries of the spinous processes and were treated symptomatically with
a soft collar However, five patients had neurologic involvement secon
dary to fracture displacement, two with lasting quadriparesis, In addi
tion? there was one death attributed to cervical fracture, Forty-four
percent of the patients had associated injuries, most commonly facial
and head (33%). The three oldest patients (average age: 67 years, rang
e: 57 to 73) had three of the more serious injuries. Two of these pati
ents were the quadriplegics, and a third required halo stabilization o
f bilateral C2 facet fractures, Typically, those patients who were inv
olved in collisions with immovable objects (trees or fences) had more
severe injuries and a greater chance of neurologic involvement.