A kid friendly guide to Crested Butte and Gunnison, Colorado

Injury prevention tips

As with all sports, education, common sense and good equipment are the keys to an enjoyable experience in the snow. Follow the suggestions listed below and have a wonderful time in the mountains.

• Ensure good conditioning before your kids hit the slopes.
• Make sure your kids take lessons from a certified instructor.
• Provide adult supervision at all times.
• Review safety tips with your kids.
• Understand and educate your kids on the "Skier's Responsibility Code".
• Everyone should wear sunscreen and lip balm even if it is cloudy.
• It's a good idea to wear sunglasses or goggles.
• Always dress warm and dry with layers.
• Stay well hydrated and eat healthy foods throughout the day.
• Use gear that fits properly, is in good condition and is fitted by a certified technician (particularly bindings).
• Everyone should wear a well fitted certified helmet that has not suffered any significant impacts.
• Wrist guards for snowboarders are imperative.
• Take frequent rest breaks to avoid fatigue.
• Stop when you're tired.
• If your kids do fall, teach them not to get up until they have stopped moving.
• Help your kids know how to modify dangerous behaviors on the slopes and avoid exceeding the limits of their ability.
• Educate your kids on how to avoid collisions with trees and other skiers/snowboarders. These collisions make up the more serious injuries.

Gunnison/Crested Butte Colorado Family Activity Guide
Winter 2007 Features

How to prevent
winter sports injuries

By Dr. Gloria Beim, M.D.

Some of the great things we can enjoy with our kids in Crested Butte throughout the year are sporting activities. Skiing and snowboarding offer exciting and fun exercise in Crested Butte's beautiful mountain settings.

All sports can improve physical fitness, coordination and self-discipline, as well as promote a sense of accomplishment and personal satisfaction. However, if you don't take precautions, injuries will occur. In 2002, for example, with kids 5-14 years of age, there were 17,700 skiing-related injuries and 22,900 snowboard-related injuries in the U.S. alone.

Many of these injuries might have been prevented. Kids really need grownup's help with this: Because they are still growing and gaining motor and cognitive skills, kids are very much more susceptible to injuries than adults.

You can help to prevent sports injury by using appropriate protective equipment, letting your kids play only in safe conditions, and knowing how to reduce the number and severity of injuries in the snow.

Skiing

Studies have shown that there is an increased risk of injuries in children under the age of 12 years with the use of rented equipment, and even more so with borrowed gear from family or friends. Why? Because it doesn't fit.

If ski bindings aren't correctly adjusted, there's a two-fold increase in injury risk. Make sure you have a certified technician check your child's binding settings at the beginning of the season and several times during the season. If binding settings are too high, your child could injure lower limbs. If binding settings are too low and the bindings release prematurely, your child could suffer upper limb injuries in a fall. Binding settings must be set according to your child's weight and ability.

In kids 3 to 12 years old, low technical skill levels increase the risk of injuries seven times. Lessons are very important, but if kids don't get lots of experience on the slopes to practice, more injuries occur more often. Tell your children not to push the limit on more advanced terrain, and to keep the speed sensible while they're practicing. Remind them that even though they've had some lessons, getting good takes time.

Ski injuries tend to occur later in the day. This suggests that fatigue may be an important factor in injury risk. Monitor your child's energy levels and help him know when it's time to take a break or quit for the day.

The most common injuries in skiing occur in the lower limbs, particularly the knees. A ligament sprain on the inside of the knee (MCL or medial collateral ligament) is the most common injury,

usually due to learning the snow plow and the stress it applies to the inside of the knee. In young kids, the growth plates are still open in the bones and they're at risk for injury.

If your child is injured, don't wait. Make sure you have a doctor take a look in order to prevent further damage.

The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons recommends the use of helmets for skiing and snowboarding. Helmets partially absorb the force of blunt trauma and dissipate the energy so that the head alone does not sustain the total force of the blow. Helmets don't eliminate the risk of injury, but they can decrease the severity. Some studies have shown helmet use to decrease head injury by 50%. In addition, most studies have shown that helmeted skiers have had better outcomes and had less temporary or permanent neurological loss/impairment than those not wearing proper protective headgear.

Snowboarding

Snowboarding has become ever more popular with young people. Unfortunately, the injury rate for snowboarders is much higher than among skiers of similar levels of ability. Several studies have shown that more than 40% of snowboard injuries (compared to 16% of skiing injuries) are considered emergent -- fractures, dislocation and head injuries with loss of consciousness, and concussions.

Compared to first time skiers, snowboarders' injuries sustained were more serious in nature and more likely to affect the upper limbs. The increased incidence of snowboard injuries are likely due to the inherent instability of having both feet attached to the board, and a tendency to fall on an outstretched hand when losing balance.

The most common injuries in snowboarders, 1/3 of them, occur in the upper limbs, mostly in the wrist. Many snowboarders fall onto an outstretched hand and the wrist absorbs most of the impact. Studies have shown that injury risk and severity are reduced significantly with the use of wrist guards.

As in downhill skiing, helmets are essential in reducing the risk and severity of head injuries.

For the more experienced boarder, jumping predisposes the boarder to a higher risk of spinal injury than skiers. Please talk to your kids about the risks of "big air" in the terrain parks. More serious injuries can occur for both snowboarders and skiers in these areas.

Snowblading

Snowblades or skiboards are skis of one meter or less in length. There has been a disproportionate number of injuries in this sport because the bindings do not release. This sport has shown the highest rate of fractures of all the snow sports, with a large number affecting the lower limb.

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