Snowboarding
Patterns in Snowboarding Injuries
I stumbled upon this article written by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) that discusses snowboarding injuries. A lot of what I read I already knew, but there are some things that I found really fascinating. Here are some of my favourites:
1) Wearing protective equipement such as wrist guards does of course reduce the likelihood of wrist injuries, but can increase the risk of injuries to other parts like elbows and shoulders because “it may actually place the areas proximate to the device at increased risk, by shifting the distribution of impact forces”. This makes sense since the force of impact has to be absorbed somewhere other than the wrist.
2) Almost one quarter of all injuries occur during a person’s first snowboarding experience. With that said, it’s a wonder the sport doesn’t have a higher drop-out rate. Next time I teach someone how to board I’ll remember to tell them that if they make it through that day unscathed, they are well on their way to mastery.
3) At one time, half of all injuries were to the lower extremities. Thanks to the advance of binding and boot technology, that number is now less than a third. Like I have said before, make sure your boots and bindings are dialed in! Hooray for technology!
The article is now a bit outdated, but still interesting. Check it out if you’d like here.
If you are a novice rider or liking taking risks, make sure you wear a helmet and wristguards. Those pants with butt padding are also a good idea and a great source of comic relief. Be safe, especially when getting off of those lifts. You know, the ones people love to just stand at the top of while they figure out where to go next.
Discussion
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I have read about how as helmet use has increased injuries have also increased, they just are not related to people braining themselves as much. It seems as people protect themselves more they think they can do bigger stuff… then they hurt themself.
Butt padding?!?!?? please…
have you never seen the butt pads sold in gear shops? I think it’s a decent idea for those exceptionally bad newbies.
ive seen skiers patrol that have these pads that flap around behind their butt… kind of assumed it was to keep their butt dry on the chair lift… hehe. shows how much i know
I guess the pads are dual-purpose. Wet, cold butt is indeed a day killer.
I don’t know why, but all my snowboarding injuries seem to be neck injuries… falling face first or impact from a bad fall backwards.
Fortunately I’m not a beginner anymore, but I do remember the days of the sore butt syndrome
Nowadays it is incredible the technology they have for protective gear. Basically hockey gear now. Full on lower body protection, shoulder protection. You name it.
Since snowboarding is a non-contact sport, I’m all for the protective equipment. I just wish my helmet didn’t feel like it wieghs20 lbs. Maybe then I’d actually wear it.
Oh what I mean by the above comment is that in sports where contact is allowed, there has been an increase in some injuries because the protective equipment worn is really hard and can injure others.
Yup, I know what you mean. What helmet do you have? Mine is super light, I’ve got a Pro-Tec… highly recommend
I think mine is also a Pro-Tec. Maybe it’s not as heavy as I think it is – I’ve never had another helmet so I have no frame of reference. Maybe I should just try and get used to it!