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A Guide to Avoiding Wintersports Injuries [Infographic]

WINTER SPORTS injunes Skiing holidays are always great fun. But the consequences of a collision after a 'liquid’ lunch or just over-exuberance after spending hours on the Xbox 360 Kinect snowboarding challenge, can ruin the vibe! Know your limitations and take precautions – check out the advice below. HEAD SPINE Head injuries constitute around 5% of all injuries. Fatalities are rare, with the majority of accidents needing medical attention for concussion or respiratory problems. Collisions, impacts on hard snow or crashing into trees, and lift accidents (with skiers hit by swinging chairs or T-bars) are the most common causes. Skiers, like motorists, can suffer whiplash and one of the major problems is flexion/ hyper-extension, where the head bends forward, and then flies sharply backwards. The higher up the spinal column, the weaker the bones, so injuries near the neck and upper back are serious. SKIERS THUMB Compression is the other concern - where vertebrae are pushed into one another. ELBOW This can be more serious than it sounds. when falling, the wrist and fingers are prone to breaks or possible sprains. Breaks on the thumb caused by ski poles need immediate surgery According to studies in the US, around 7% of injuries relate to the ulnar collateral ligament of the elbow joint. This is a common injury among snowboarders and beginners/children. to ensure long-term full recovery of use. KNEE LEGS Knee injuries constitute 40% of all injuries - many are just sprains which Leg breaks usually take place when the skier or snowboarder jumps from great heights, tries a 360 degree trick and lands awkwardly. Lower leg breaks are most frequent. require a bit of R&R to recover, but some ligament tears will be more serious and occasionally lead to lifelong disability. Don't hit the slopes (literally) like your first day is your last. Many back injuries are caused by reckless behaviour. Never move someone if they have hurt their back unless they are in a life-threatening position (like under falling rocks or near a precipice). Keep them stationary and make sure the airwaves are clear. Jumps from over 10oft or higher can lead to back injuries. Helmets will protect Elbows, skiers from collisions arms, and minor falls but wrists and there is no actual hard hands are evidence they prevent fatalities. For beginners and children, helmets are advisable. Speed kills so don't take risks on slopes if you are inexperienced. Ski to your HEAD PINE all sensitive ELBOW areas so wearing protective gear or straps, especially for small children and beginners, will help mitigate any serious injury. ability is the best advice. The best way to reduce these is to prepare before the trip by strengthening your quads. The other key factor is wearing correctly fitted boots and bindings - Incidences To avoid ski thumb, involving broken legs THUMB ANEE the trick is to let go of the poles as soon as you feel yourself falling - it's the have dramatically declined due to improved bindings, boots and ski release mechanisms. But broken legs heal better than torn ligaments so this is a mixed blessing. sometimes the hire shops are brilliant but some are rushed or simply don't care much. You need to ensure you are comfortable and secure before leaving the shop even if they think you are being a pain! handles which cause the injury. BEWARE LUNCH! COLLISIONS Collisions account for only 10% of injuries in one study but a massive 67% of hospital admissions - most are skiers either hitting each other or hitting snowboarders. Most injuries occur between 12 noon and 16.00hrs - basically after lunch! Fatigue and alcohol are the obvious risk components. Snowmobiles and Snow Cat/snow tractors are heavy machinery to be aware of on resorts - colliding with one of these can be catastrophic. EQUIPMΕNT ΜΑIΝTΕΝΑΝCE SKI LIFTS AND TRAM INJURIES Many head injuries, lacerations and falls are caused by ski lifts/trams. Helmets, wrist guards and improvements in boots and bindings have increased dramatically in the past 10 years. But when hiring equipment, the onus Inexperienced skiers will often slip when trying to get off or on a lift, and the ski chair T-bar is is on the individual to make sure they have the right training and gear the main culprit for a whack on the back on the head. Accidents occur when people swing on the for the terrain and individual ability. chair or lean out of the seat. TEEN SNOWBOARDING 'JUMPERS' SCHOOL TRIPS US studies indicate teenage snowboarders have the highest incident rate with injuries including abdominal, facial (lost teeth mostly) and concussions as well as dislocated shoulders. Children on school trips should be very cautious when grabbing equipment from Most snowboarding injuries are as a result of flustered staff! jumping from heights, usually in terrain parks. Snowboarders can significantly reduce their risk of injury by undertaking some basic training, learning how to make a controlled landing and how to recover from a loss of control. Do boots fit? Is the release clamp working? Are the skis the correct size? Keep asking the questions until you are happy. Sources: Skisafety.com Europe PubMed Central handtutorblog.wordpress.com/2012/10/28/ski-accident-statistics-and-their-physical-therapy-treatment alpha 0845 2 307 439 www.alphatravelinsurance.co.uk Q • travel insurance.co.uk facebook.com/alphatravelinsurance f @alphatravelins Advice tips: LEGS WINTER SPORTS injunes Skiing holidays are always great fun. But the consequences of a collision after a 'liquid’ lunch or just over-exuberance after spending hours on the Xbox 360 Kinect snowboarding challenge, can ruin the vibe! Know your limitations and take precautions – check out the advice below. HEAD SPINE Head injuries constitute around 5% of all injuries. Fatalities are rare, with the majority of accidents needing medical attention for concussion or respiratory problems. Collisions, impacts on hard snow or crashing into trees, and lift accidents (with skiers hit by swinging chairs or T-bars) are the most common causes. Skiers, like motorists, can suffer whiplash and one of the major problems is flexion/ hyper-extension, where the head bends forward, and then flies sharply backwards. The higher up the spinal column, the weaker the bones, so injuries near the neck and upper back are serious. SKIERS THUMB Compression is the other concern - where vertebrae are pushed into one another. ELBOW This can be more serious than it sounds. when falling, the wrist and fingers are prone to breaks or possible sprains. Breaks on the thumb caused by ski poles need immediate surgery According to studies in the US, around 7% of injuries relate to the ulnar collateral ligament of the elbow joint. This is a common injury among snowboarders and beginners/children. to ensure long-term full recovery of use. KNEE LEGS Knee injuries constitute 40% of all injuries - many are just sprains which Leg breaks usually take place when the skier or snowboarder jumps from great heights, tries a 360 degree trick and lands awkwardly. Lower leg breaks are most frequent. require a bit of R&R to recover, but some ligament tears will be more serious and occasionally lead to lifelong disability. Don't hit the slopes (literally) like your first day is your last. Many back injuries are caused by reckless behaviour. Never move someone if they have hurt their back unless they are in a life-threatening position (like under falling rocks or near a precipice). Keep them stationary and make sure the airwaves are clear. Jumps from over 10oft or higher can lead to back injuries. Helmets will protect Elbows, skiers from collisions arms, and minor falls but wrists and there is no actual hard hands are evidence they prevent fatalities. For beginners and children, helmets are advisable. Speed kills so don't take risks on slopes if you are inexperienced. Ski to your HEAD PINE all sensitive ELBOW areas so wearing protective gear or straps, especially for small children and beginners, will help mitigate any serious injury. ability is the best advice. The best way to reduce these is to prepare before the trip by strengthening your quads. The other key factor is wearing correctly fitted boots and bindings - Incidences To avoid ski thumb, involving broken legs THUMB ANEE the trick is to let go of the poles as soon as you feel yourself falling - it's the have dramatically declined due to improved bindings, boots and ski release mechanisms. But broken legs heal better than torn ligaments so this is a mixed blessing. sometimes the hire shops are brilliant but some are rushed or simply don't care much. You need to ensure you are comfortable and secure before leaving the shop even if they think you are being a pain! handles which cause the injury. BEWARE LUNCH! COLLISIONS Collisions account for only 10% of injuries in one study but a massive 67% of hospital admissions - most are skiers either hitting each other or hitting snowboarders. Most injuries occur between 12 noon and 16.00hrs - basically after lunch! Fatigue and alcohol are the obvious risk components. Snowmobiles and Snow Cat/snow tractors are heavy machinery to be aware of on resorts - colliding with one of these can be catastrophic. EQUIPMΕNT ΜΑIΝTΕΝΑΝCE SKI LIFTS AND TRAM INJURIES Many head injuries, lacerations and falls are caused by ski lifts/trams. Helmets, wrist guards and improvements in boots and bindings have increased dramatically in the past 10 years. But when hiring equipment, the onus Inexperienced skiers will often slip when trying to get off or on a lift, and the ski chair T-bar is is on the individual to make sure they have the right training and gear the main culprit for a whack on the back on the head. Accidents occur when people swing on the for the terrain and individual ability. chair or lean out of the seat. TEEN SNOWBOARDING 'JUMPERS' SCHOOL TRIPS US studies indicate teenage snowboarders have the highest incident rate with injuries including abdominal, facial (lost teeth mostly) and concussions as well as dislocated shoulders. Children on school trips should be very cautious when grabbing equipment from Most snowboarding injuries are as a result of flustered staff! jumping from heights, usually in terrain parks. Snowboarders can significantly reduce their risk of injury by undertaking some basic training, learning how to make a controlled landing and how to recover from a loss of control. Do boots fit? Is the release clamp working? Are the skis the correct size? Keep asking the questions until you are happy. Sources: Skisafety.com Europe PubMed Central handtutorblog.wordpress.com/2012/10/28/ski-accident-statistics-and-their-physical-therapy-treatment alpha 0845 2 307 439 www.alphatravelinsurance.co.uk Q • travel insurance.co.uk facebook.com/alphatravelinsurance f @alphatravelins Advice tips: LEGS

A Guide to Avoiding Wintersports Injuries [Infographic]

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With thousands of people hitting the slopes each year, combined with a staggering 135,000 reported medical injuries it is essential to know your limits, says Alpha Travel Insurance.

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