Ski Accident Statistics and Their Physical Therapy Treatment

Skiing is one of the world’s favorite sports and as such there are a fair amount of injuries to skiers. An analysis of injury statistics compiled over 12 seasons, encompassing 2.55 million skier-days, at a ski resort in Wyoming was used for a ski accident survey. Ticket sales per year was the method of calculating the population surveyed. 9749 skiing injuries were indexed by region and severity according to diagnosis on the initial evaluation. The rates of injury were then analyzed as a function of time. During the 12 seasons the injury rate remained constant at 3.7 injuries per 1000 skier-days. During the study period the rate of lower extremity to upper extremity injury decreased from 4:1 to 2:1 . The ankle injury rate also decreased with time. 7% of all injuries were Ulnar collateral ligament sprains. 30% of all injuries were knee sprains. Anterior cruciate ligament tears increased as a function of time and accounted for 16% of all skiing injuries during the same study period. The most common injury was the medial collateral ligament sprain at 18% of all skiing injuries. In addition there were also forty-seven snowboard injuries recorded. All of the above injuries can be treated by physical therapy products known as the TUTOR system once the patient has been stabilized and is ready for rehabilitation. The TUTORs provide intensive exercise for all upper and lower limb injuries or surgeries. They are also effective for patients who have Parkinson’s disease, stroke, CP, MS, head and spinal cord injuries and other debilitating medical issues. The TUTOR system consists of the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR. These products include motivating and challenging games that allow the patient to practice isolated and/or interjoint coordination exercises. Controlled exercise practice will help to prevent the development of compensatory movement patterns. The dedicated software allows the therapist to fully customize the exercises to the patient’s movement ability. In addition the therapist can objectively and quantitatively evaluate and report on the treatment progress. The rehabilitation system optimizes the patient’s motor, sensory and cognitive performance and allows the patient to better perform everyday functional tasks to improve their quality of life. The TUTOR system is fully certified by the FDA and CE and is currently in use by leading U.S. and European hospitals and clinics. The suystem is available for children from the age of 5 and up and in the home through telerehabilitation.