Alpine Skiing Injuries in Scandinavian Skiers

The skiing injuries and skiing behavior of skiers from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark were studied in 4 Norwegian ski resorts during the winter of 1985/1986. A total of 328 injured skiers were recorded and compared with a randomly selected control population of 316 uninjured skiers. The skiing injury ratio—injured skiers (%)/uninjured skiers (%)—was significantly higher for Danes (2.0) than for Norwegians (0.9) and Swedes (1.0) (P < 0.01). This national difference was also observed after correction for skiing ability and skiing experience, which are the main determinants of injury risk in alpine skiing. In accordance with this, Danish beginners had an injury ratio about four times those for Norwegian and Swedish beginners. Present or previous skiing instruction reduced the injury ratio significantly only for the Norwegians; no significant differences were observed between the skiers from the three countries regarding binding testing. The previously reported higher injury risk for Norwegian compared to Swedish alpine skiers no longer exists. This may be due to more information about skiing safety in Norway in the 1980s. The relatively higher injury ratio for the Danes may be due to shorter skiing seasons, but less public information about skiing safety may also have contributed.