Introduction and aim: There are no high mountains or any advantageous circumstances for winter sports in Hungary, yet within the 10 million population there are about half a million people (the exact number is 550,000) who tend to go for skiing or snowboarding abroad. Authors compared the injury statistical data with results described in the international literature in order to develop conclusions about the differences in the injury patterns and frequency between the Hungarian ones' and those found in countries with plenty of winter sport possibilities.
Method: Authors analysed the winter sport injury cases of an insurance company. All the injury happened abroad and the assistance provider of the insurance company has managed the patient treatment and repatriation. Three winter seasons (12 months) data was analysed from the point of view of injuries frequency at different body parts and areas. Due to the fact that only limited information was available a simple statistical method was applied.
Results: Of 222 cases 90.5% were ski-related injury and 8.6% were snowboard injury. As for the skiers, the upper limb injuries accounted for 21.9%, the truncal region for 24.4% and the lower limb for 55.8%. Among snowboarders the upper limb injuries accounted for 36.9%, the truncal region for 37% and the lower limb for 26.1%. The most frequent was the knee (36.8%), the wrist (12.4) and the shoulder (11.4) injury. Skier's thumb injury was only 1.5%. The most common snowboard injury was the wrist trauma (31.6%), the head/neck/face was accounted 15.8% of all the injuries. And the ankle was injured in 10.5% of all the cases. The head/neck and the knee injury often combined with injuries of some other body part. 29 patients (13%) had to be repatriated, the most frequent reason for the repatriation was the injury of the lower limb.
Conclusions: The Hungarian sportsmen's injury patterns do not always follow data described in the international literature, but they correspond to data of countries with similar geographical situation. The injury rate of knee and of the shoulder displays same data, the injury rate of the wrist was more frequent than in the international data, and this is true both for skiers and the snowboarders. The Hungarians' injury of the truncal region (mainly the head) was more frequent, but on the other hand the general injury rate of other body parts proved to be a lower number. It seems that the frequent use of the protective equipment and the preventive measures applied by the Hungarians are mirrored in the lower injury figures. Orv. Hetil., 2017, 158(16), 618-624.
Keywords: ambulance transport; hazaszállítás; protective equipment; ski injury prevention; skiing; snowboard; snowboarding; sportsérülés; síelés; térdsérülés.