With the recent success of Jenny Jones winning a bronze medal for Team GB in the snowboarding event in Sochi, Russia, and the Channel 4 show The Jump, where celebrities have been taking part in intense winter sports, healthcare professionals are predicting people in the UK will be inspired to take up a winter sport. Alongside beginners, they are also concerned about those who have been absent from the slopes for a while and dust off their skis or snowboards before heading to the snow resorts. Many people will have done little or no preparation, putting themselves and others at potential risk of injury.
As reported in Blackmore Vale Magazine and according to a new survey by BMI Healthcare, seven out of ten orthopaedic surgeons and physiotherapists say they see an increase in sports injuries during the winter months.
Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon Mr Ian Barlow who practises at BMI The Winterbourne Hospital said: “During the winter there is certainly a rise in the number of patients presenting with sports related injuries here at BMI The Winterbourne Hospital. The vast majority of winter sports injuries involve fractures and ligament injuries around the knee. Other winter sports injuries, the result of bodies making contact with hard winter surfaces, like ice or hard-packed snow, involve the shoulder, wrist and hand.”
Of those orthopaedic surgeons and physiotherapists who took part in the survey, 87% said they believed those who take part in winter sports of some kind do not prepare their bodies enough and therefore run the risk of developing an injury.
BMI Healthcare has launched BMI Active For Life, a campaign to encourage people to look after their bones and joints, enabling them to stay active throughout their lives.
Of the winter sports injuries that are treated it is no surprise that skiing proved to be the most common, with 98% of those surveyed saying they have treated a patient for a skiing related injury.
The survey showed snow-boarding was a winter sport which frequently let to injuries with 86% of those surveyed treating someone injured, putting the sport second in the survey. Football came in third with 55%. Other sports causing most injuries were ranked as follows: running (50%), rugby (39%), ice skating (25%), cycling (18%), ice hockey (18%), triathlon (14%) and horse riding (11%).
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Junior editor at Fintech Intel