It’s the age-old question, (no, not "Who would win in a fight between Batman and Superman?" - we all know the answer to that one!) but the other age-old question; Which is more dangerous, skiing or snowboarding?
Antagonism between skiers and snowboarders on the slopes is well known and long running, and comparisons of the sports are often the subject of heated après-ski conversations. One study, carried out in 2011 for the National Ski Areas Association in the US, claimed to have settled the argument over which sport was more dangerous.
The study was carried out by Jasper Shealy, from the Rochester Institute of Technology, who has studied such injuries for 40 years. Shealy concluded that while snowboarders were between 50% to 70% more likely to get injured, they were also around a third less likely to be killed on the slopes than skiers.
So not as clear a conclusion as some would have liked, with both sides selectively arguing the findings; snowboarding accidents carry a higher risk of personal injury whilst skiing accidents are more likely to lead to death.
Spencer Claridge, who organises British ski and snowboard championships, said the fatalities were explained by the differences in the sports. "If you can walk you can ski, so it's easy to get out of control and go careering into a tree at a rate of knots. Learning how to go fast on a snowboard takes longer."
Other studies have also looked to address the question of safety in snowboarding versus skiing. A four-year study by doctors in California compared injuries sustained by skiers and snowboarders and their results show the importance of experience; 49% of injured snowboarders were beginners compared to 18% of skiers.
And a study from a Vermont ski resort (where Dr. Robert Johnson from the University of Vermont and colleagues analyzed injury reports over 18 winter seasons) found that snowboarding injuries happen slightly more often than skiing injuries, with the most injuries happening in young, inexperienced female snowboarders.
Although snowboarding injuries or skiing injuries are relatively common, there are some differences in the types of injuries sustained. Snowboarding accidents tend to involve a fall directly forwards or backwards, risking injury to wrists and face as well as the tailbone, spine and head. Whereas skiing accidents often invole a fall to a skier's sides, exposing them to hip, knee and shoulder injury.
The Vermont study showed that one in five of all snowboarding injuries in adults and close to two in five in kids were wrist sprains and breaks. Whereas among skiers, torn and otherwise injured knee ligaments affected one-third of the adult skiers, with leg muscle bruises being most common in kids.
Interestingly a study carried out in Norway, compared the injury risk in World Cup (WC) skiing and snowboarding with Norwegian professional football. They concluded that while the injury risk among WC skiers and snowboarders was high, it was only half of that in Norwegian football (although the risk for severe injuries was the same) but that’s a discussion for another article.
Whether skiing or snowboarding it’s important to take sensible precautions and follow the 10 legally binding rules for skiers and snowboarders, as set out by The International Ski Federation (FIS) (see our earlier post)
Tips to help to avoid...
Snowboarding Injuires
- "Impact shorts" these help to absorb falls
- Wrist guards can spread impact shocks and help prevent broken bones.
- Modern helmets are light and provide great protection against the dreaded "heel edge catch".
Skiing Injuries
- Correctly setting the ski bindings DIN release mechanism can prevent bone, ligament and tendon damage in the lower leg.
- Shorter skis can lower the leverage on legs and help prevent tibia and fibia breaks.
- A five-minute warm-up can relax tendons, ligaments and muscles.
We Can Help
If you have suffered skiing injuries or snowboarding injuries, through no fault of your own, then you may be entitled to make a claim for personal injury compensation. Our friendly specialist advisors can talk to you about your situation and see if you have a valid compensation claim. There is no charge for this service and you are under no obligation to claim with us.
If You Have a Genuine Claim, Contact a Genuine Company
May I Claim, is a trading name of R Costings Limited and our CRM number is 25770
If you’ve had an accident that wasn’t your fault and suffered an injury - you can trust us to handle your claim professionally.
Call us now on 0800 756 7774 and talk to us to find out if you have a claim - or fill in our Quick Claim form (on the right of this page).
May need to credit “Advice Guide from Citizens Advice Bureau”
http://info.mayiclaim.co.uk/personal_injury_compensation_claim_news/bid/334525/Skiing-Injuries-or-Snowboarding-Injuries-Which-are-More-Dangerous
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