Snowboarding is an extreme winter sport with a considerable chance...

Snowboarding is an extreme winter sport with a considerable chance of injuries ranging from innocent little slips to high impact crashes. Beginning Snowboarders are the ones who normally get injured even though they attempt less dangerous maneuvers than advanced Snowboarders. This is because they haven't learned how to maintain a stable stance on the Snowboard yet and are thus more likely to lose balance and fall. In fact, nearly 25% of injuries occur during a Snowboarder's first experience and almost one-half occur during the first season of Snowboarding.

Considering the fact that both of your feet is fixed in non-release Snowboard Bindings to a relatively narrow Snowboard, it is logical that "falling" is the leading cause of injury in Snowboarding. Falls are followed by collisions with stationary objects and other Snowboarders or skiers. The overall injury rate is estimated to be 4 per 1,000 Snowboarding days, similar to that in alpine skiing.

Compared to Skiing, Snowboarding injuries usually involve the upper extremities and the ankle. This is because when Snowboarders lose their balance, they can't "step out" a leg in order to recover, as both feet are firmly attached to the board. The instinctive protective reaction in the event of a Snowboard fall is to outstretch a hand to break the landing, thus placing the upper limb at risk of injury. Nevertheless, serious injuries are rare in Snowboarding and generally occur from collision with trees. Wrist injuries are by far the most common of all Snowboarding injuries, followed by ankle and knee injuries.

Added: March 2, 2007
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