A prospective study of snowkiting injuries

Background: Snowkiting is becoming an increasingly popular extreme sport; however, its injury rates and patterns are unknown to date.Purpose: The authors surveyed the injuries in a group of snowkiters over 1 season.Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study.Methods: The study was conducted over the course of 1 winter season ranging from November 2009 until March 2010; 80 snowkiters were surveyed prospectively. All participants were recruited through contacts with snowkite schools, snowkiting-related web portals, or Internet-based social networks.Results: During 3929 hours of snowkiting recorded, 33 injuries occurred, of which 60.6% were mild; 21.2%, moderate; and 18.2%, severe. The calculated injury rate was 8.4 injuries per 1000 hours of exposure. Most frequently injured body sites were the back (30.3%), knee (24.2%), shoulder (21.2%), and head (21.2%). Upper extremity injuries included 2 shoulder dislocations, a clavicle fracture, and a dislocation fracture of the radial head. Injuries to the lower ex...