Skiing injuries in Australia.

A prospective study of 1850 skiing injuries which occurred during the 1983 skiing season in Australia is presented. To date, it is the largest prospective review of skiing injuries in Australia. All injuries were seen and treated by the same medical practitioner. In contrast with previous reports, upper extremity injuries and lower extremity injuries were almost equally represented (36% and 42% of the total number of injuries, respectively); injuries to the head, face and neck accounted for 17% of the total number of injuries. The injury rate of 3.80 per 1000 skiers establishes skiing as a safe sport. Attention is drawn to the high incidence of facial lacerations and of disruption of the ulnar collateral ligament of the metacarpophalangeal joint of the thumb ("skier's thumb"). It is recommended that both competitive and recreational skiers wear helmets with attached visors. With adequate medical personnel and facilities, over 90% of injuries can receive definitive primary treatment on location; this results in minimum patient discomfort, complications, and hospital costs.