Risk of injury through snowboarding

Objective: Survey of a group of snowboarders and study of their injuries, a s well as analysis of the risk of injury considering the time spent on the snowboard. Materials and Methods: Of 7,221 students participating in winter sport prog rams organized by Austrian schools, 2,745 of those riding snowboards were a sked to fill out questionnaires pertaining to demographics, their experienc e level, equipment, snowboard riding habits, and associated injuries. Results: A total of 2,579 snowboarders (94%), who spent a total of 10,119 d ays snowboarding, filled out a questionnaire which could be evaluated, A to tal of 152 snowboarders had suffered a mean of 10.6 injuries per 1,000 days of snowboarding, which required medical care; 5.4/1,000 injuries were mode rate or severe, The most common injuries were to the wrist (32%), the hand (20%), and the head (11%), The rate of injury was especially high during th e first half-day (roughly 3 hours). Use of wrist protection devices reduced injuries to the wrist from 2 to 0.5% (p = 0.048). Conclusion: Risk of snowboard related injury was highest in beginners. Thro ugh the use of wrist protection devices, the incidence of the most common i njuries was dramatically reduced.