Abstract
Objectives: Downhill skiing represents one of the most popular winter sports worldwide. Whereas a plethora of studies dealt with the risk of injury and death associated with downhill skiing, data on its favorable health effects are scarce. A more comprehensive overview on such effects might emerge from a multidisciplinary perspective.Methods: A literature search has been performed to identify original articles on downhill/alpine skiing interventions or questionnaire-based evaluation of skiing effects and the assessment of health effects (cardiorespiratory, neurophysiological, musculoskeletal, psycho-social).Results and Discussion: A total of 21 original articles dealing with potentially favorable health effects resulting from downhill skiing were included in this review. Results indicate that downhill skiing, especially when performed on a regular basis, may contribute to healthy aging by its association with a healthier life style including higher levels of physical activity. Several other mechanisms suggest further favorable health effects of downhill skiing in response to specific challenges and adaptations in the musculo-skeletal and postural control systems, to exposures to cold temperatures and intermittent hypoxia, and/or emotional and social benefits from outdoor recreation. However, reliable data corroborating these mechanisms is scarce.
Highlights
Downhill skiing represents one of the most popular winter sports worldwide
A total of 21 original articles dealing with potentially favorable health effects resulting from downhill skiing were included in this review (Table 1)
Results have to be interpreted with caution because a large part of articles is based on the same study population (Salzburg Skiing for the Elderly Study)
Summary
Downhill skiing represents one of the most popular winter sports worldwide. Over 2,000 downhill ski areas are spread across 67 countries with an estimated 400 million skier days annually (Vanat, 2018). A majority of research studies so far dealt with the risk of traumatic and non-traumatic events during downhill skiing (Hagel, 2005; Burtscher and Ponchia, 2010), only a few focussed on beneficial health aspects (Müller et al, 2011b). In those millions of people practicing downhill skiing during the winter season, skiing becomes part of regular physical activity. Regular physical activity is closely associated with the individual performance level, which in turn is inversely related to mortality.
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