The most common snowboarding injuries

December 24, 2024

In the first of two features looking at injuries you can sustain while on your winter sports holiday, sports physiotherapist Nicki de Leon looks at the most common snowboarding injuries.

JennyJones-snowboarding

Although not as common as you might think, both skiing and snowboarding can cause sports injuries, but they tend to have slightly different injury patterns. The increase in popularity of snowboarding in the 1990s saw a dramatic drop in knee injuries seen on the slopes as these tend to be reserved more for skiers. However it has also seen a rise in ankle injuries. Something that had been minimised in skiers thanks to the improved technology and stability of ski boots.

It is not possible to tell you about every possible eventuality, but what this feature does aim to do is forewarn you about the major injuries that can at times be avoided and also to inform you of what to look for if you are unfortunate enough to sustain an injury.

Injuries involving the upper limbs are far more frequently seen in snowboarding than skiing. The main reason for this is that when you have both feet in bindings on a snowboard and lose your balance, the natural act is to put your arm or hand out to save yourself. For this reason, wrist injuries (as well as a bruised bottom) do tend to be fairly common, especially with beginners.

Wrist Injuries

Of these upper limb injuries wrist fractures are the most common, followed by damage to the shoulder. Wrist fractures, especially in beginners, are the most cause for concern. These usually occur when the snowboarder lands on an outstretched arm having lost their balance. A fracture resulting from this mechanism of injury will usually involve the scaphoid bone at the base of the thumb or the far end of the radius (forearm) bone.

The simple balance exercise mentioned in our feature Preparing for your skiing holiday - part one prepares you for avoiding this type of fall by improving your balance. Wearing a wrist guard has conclusively been shown to greatly reduce the risk of a wrist fracture. This is certainly a must for all snowboarders but especially beginners.

Shoulder Injuries

The type of shoulder injuries seen with skiing and snowboarding are fairly similar. Shoulder dislocations are the most common, followed by fractures to the humerus (upper arm) bone. The same type of fall resulting in wrist injuries is also the culprit here.

The shoulder joint can be thought of as a ball and socket joint where the head of the humerus sits within a very shallow socket. The socket needs to be shallow to allow the great freedom of movement that the shoulder has, but this does make it a more unstable joint. A dislocation of the humeral head in the glenoid socket is usually the result of a fall onto an outstretched arm seen with all types of winter sports.

Once a shoulder has dislocated once, there is an 85% chance of recurrence further down the line, as the ligaments supporting the joint have been overstretched making an unstable joint even more unstable. The most effective way of avoiding a nasty shoulder injury is to know how to fall. It is natural to want to reach out with your arm to help you regain your balance during a fall, but this puts your arm in a vulnerable position for the inevitable fall onto it. Curling up into a ball with your arm kept in close to your side will certainly help to protect your shoulder and wrist.

Granted, there is a chance that you could sustain a different type of upper limb injury by falling in this way, however, shoulder dislocations do tend to be amongst the nastiest of shoulder injuries and are definitely to be avoided.

How your choice of boot can affect ankle injuries

Hard boots, often worn by racers offer greater stability, ankle support and control than a soft boot but can on rare occasions, lead to a knee injury (see the section below on knee injuries).

Soft boots are often worn by beginners as they offer greater manoeuvrability. However, they do not offer the same level of protection to your ankles as the harder boot provides and are twice as likely to cause a nasty ankle injury, as any forces transmitted up from the board tend to be absorbed by this joint making it vulnerable to injuries.

This commonly happens when a snowboarder lands a jump awkwardly and twists the foot inwards (inversion) whilst compressing the ankle joint on the landing. This can lead to a nasty fracture of the outside part of the talus bone which is the keystone of the ankle joint. This is often misdiagnosed as a straight forward ankle sprain and if you are unfortunate enough to sustain an ankle injury whilst boarding, it is worth being fore-armed with this information when you go to the nearest alpine clinic and insist on an x-ray.

A good option for a boot is a hybrid boot which combines the comfort and manoeuvrability of a soft boot with the stability and protection of a hard boot.

Knee Injuries

Although wearing hard boots may make you slightly more susceptible to a knee injury, they are much less frequently seen than in skiing. The main difference between the two sports is that with skiing, both legs are free to move and twist independently of the other leg. The skier and the skies are generally facing down the mountain making it easier to potentially catch an edge and incur a nasty twisting force to the knee.

In comparison, with snowboarding, both feet are attached to the same board and any twisting forces are absorbed by the entire body rather than just the knees.

There are a few circumstances with snowboarding where your knees do become vulnerable;

Using a surface lift (i.e. drag lift or T-bar) or dismounting from a chair lift when you have one foot out of your bindings. In this circumstance, your snowboard is acting like a huge ski with the potential to apply a massive twisting force to the knee joint. Unfortunately, until lifts become more snowboard friendly, you will have to take extreme care. It is personal preference, but some boarders do actually have both feet securely in the bindings for all types of lifts. This is where having a competent skier with you to help pull you along with a pole as you near the lift is useful.
Direct trauma from a collision with a solid object like a tree, another person or a pylon. It would usually be the front leg that absorbs this impact and sustaining a fracture to the lower leg would be the most likely injury.
Although it is still much more common in skiing, an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury can be sustained when landing a large jump without adequate control. The preparation and prevention exercises in our featurePreparing for your skiing holiday - part two addresses how to strengthen your legs to avoid this type of injury.

Head Injuries

Head injuries are often the result of a fall. Beginners will often fall backwards hitting their head on the snow. Thankfully head injuries of this nature tend to be minor. However, the greater the force of impact involved in the fall or collision, the more severe the head injury.

As the risk of sustaining a head injury is less than 1%, there are no strict guidelines published by the respected bodies about wearing a helmet. However, it is obvious that wearing a helmet will significantly reduce the risk of a head injury if you are unfortunate to have a fall or collision.

Spinal Injuries

Although devastating if they happen, spinal injuries on the slopes are relatively rare. There are two main causes;

Stopping abruptly and promptly landing on your bottom on hard snow can transmit the impact forces up your spinal column leading to a compression type injury of one of the vertebra.
Landing awkwardly on your back or neck after a jump that has gone wrong. Always go down and assess the jump first and then climb back up before performing the jump as you do not know what will greet you on the other side.

If you witness someone falling awkwardly onto their back or neck, never try and move them. Always call for help and let the professionals get them down the mountain immobilised on a back-board.

Despite all of this worrying information about the risks of skiing and snowboarding, it must be remembered that serious injuries on the slopes remain relatively rare. Preparing your body for the rigours on the slopes is still the most effective way of preventing injuries. Wearing safety equipment such as wrist guards and helmets and learning how to ski or board correctly and safely will put the odds even further in your favour.

Have a terrific time and please spare a thought for us unfortunate people who are unable to hit the slopes this year!

Nicki de Leon, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine

Nicki de Leon is a sports injury physiotherapist with over ten years experience treating elite sportsmen and women and professional dancers. She was the official physio of the British Paralympic swimming team for over three years and attended the Paralympic Games in Athens 2004.