STATISTICS
Evolution of Snowboarding
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Snowboarding first emerged in the 1960-70s and gained professional recognition during Japan’s 1998 Winter Olympic Games, quickly becoming a popular sport worldwide since (Gao et al., 2024). By the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, snowboarding had evolved into a core Olympic event, featuring 11 distinct events (IOC, 2024). The sport has also been emerging in popularity within Victoria, Australia with continuous growth in visitation and participation yearly. Visitation statistics from Alpine Resorts Victoria (2024) highlighted that visitation rates in 2022 have had a 58% increase in the 10-year visitor average across all Victorian resorts with a 205% increase since 2021.
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Figure 1. Man snowboarding
​​​​​​​Injury Rates
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Although snowboarding has been continuously evolving, the sport's growth in popularity has also brought increased attention to snowboarding-related injuries:
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Injury rates within snowboarders have fluctuate over time but has consistently remained more prevalent compared to skiers (Kim et al., 2012)
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Between 1989-1999, snowboarders recorded an injury rate of 3 per 1000 ski days in Swedish ski areas - this rate is three times higher compared to alpine skiers (Made and Elmqvist, 2004)
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Similarly, more recent research has supported this data, noting an overall incidence of snow injuries to be 3.49 per 1000 days (Fu et al., 2022).
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Among this, inexperienced snowboarders (first-day riders) are at an increased risk of injury and is 2.2x more likely to be in the injured group compared to more experienced snowboarders (Langran & Selvaraj, 2004)
Injury Patterns
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Each snow sport imposes unique biomechanical demands on athletes, which in turn, can lead to distinct patterns of injuries. The relatively recent rise in popularity of snowboarding, paired with its unique movement patterns and physical requirements, has introduced specific injury profiles that create novel challenges for healthcare professionals to address (Wasden et al., 2009; Helmig et al., 2018)
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Beginner snowboarders predominantly suffer from upper extremity injuries, especially wrist fractures/sprains due to falls onto an outstretched arm position (Made & Elmqvist, 2004; Kim et al., 2012; Helmig et al., 2018)
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More experienced snowboarders tend to suffer from lower extremity injuries with ankle fractures/ligament sprains being the most common (Ishimaru et al., 2011; Kim et al., 2012)
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