INJURIES IN THE SPORT OF LUGE - EPIDEMIOLOGY AND ANALYSIS

We undertook this study to determine the types and frequency of injuri es sustained in the sport of luge. Before this study, no data were ava ilable in the medical literature on luge injuries. We performed a retr ospective analysis between the years 1985 and 1992 using data obtained from the athlete injury and illness report forms at the US Training C enter Sports Medicine Clinic in Lake Placid, New York. During the 7 ye ars examined, 1043 athletes took 57, 244 track runs and sustained 407 injuries. The risk of sustaining an injury was 0.39 per person per yea r, and the risk of an injury causing the loss of more than 1 day of pr actice was 0.04 per person per year. Contusions were the major injury (51%), followed by strains (27%). Strains of the neck muscles and cont usions of extremities, especially the hands, were characteristic injur ies sustained by athletes. The most serious injuries were concussions (2%) and fractures (3%). Crashes were responsible for 64% of injuries. Luge appears to be a relatively safe sport with injury rates comparab le with recreational alpine skiing.