Injuries of the shoulder in winter sports

Abstract

Skiing as asport has come along way from the first competitive event in Norway in 1767 to about 200million skiers today worldwide. With Germany alone recording around 8000 injuries annually, there is an increased need for awareness for winter-sport-related injuries and their management. According to the latest report by "Auswertungsstelle für Skiunfälle" (ASU, evaluation center for ski accidents), shoulder injuries alone account for more than 20% of injuries to all body regions (men 26.1% and women 13%). The most common injuries affecting the shoulder girdle are rotator cuff strains, glenohumeral dislocations, acromioclavicular dislocations and clavicle fractures. These injuries are primarily the result of four mechanisms: direct impact, axial load on an extended arm, resisted forced abduction of the arm, and external rotation forces resulting from afirmly planted ski pole in the grasp of askier during afall. In this article, we describe the three most common shoulder girdle injuries in winter sports along with their management and answer the most important questions for the athlete.