an epidemiological investigation of skiing injuries in erciyes ski centre

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the epidemiology of skiing injuries in Kayseri Erciyes Ski Centre. Material and Methods: This research was conducted using data that were recorded in the Erciyes Ski Centre Injury Surveillance System from 2012 to 2016 by ski patrols. We calculated the number of skiers from sold lift cards and tickets. A total of 616 cases of skiing injuries were recorded over the four seasons. Results: The calculated injury rate was 2.6 per 1000 skiers in the period of 2012-2016. A total of 372 (60.4%) patients were males and 244 were (39.6%) females and their mean ages were 27.2 ± 9.8 (range 7-65) years. The most common mechanisms of injuries were falling (82.3) followed by collision (11.5%). Skiing injuries occurred mostly at the lower extremities (52.6%), followed by upper extremities (20.4%).The most frequently seen cases were contusions (59.7%) and sprains (12.5%). Conclusion: The rate of injury was compatible with reference ranges (2-4‰) for Erciyes Ski Centre during all seasons. Injuries were seen mostly in adults. The most frequent injuries were at the lower extremities, which were falling-related and contusions. There were no substantial proportional changes in terms of the variables between the seasons.