Are Risk-Taking and Ski Helmet Use Associated with an ACL Injury in Recreational Alpine Skiing?

Gerhard Ruedl, Markus Posch, Martin Niedermeier, Klaus Greier, Martin Faulhaber, Alois Schranz and Martin Burtscher
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Gerhard Ruedl: Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Markus Posch: Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Martin Niedermeier: Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Klaus Greier: Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Martin Faulhaber: Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Alois Schranz: Medalp Sportclinic, 6460 Imst, Austria
Martin Burtscher: Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 17, 1-9

Abstract: According to the risk compensation hypothesis, the use of a ski helmet might provide a false sense of security, resulting in a riskier behavior by skiing faster or more aggressively, which might lead to an increased injury risk. Injury of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a common diagnosis in downhill skiers. Thus, the aim of the study was to evaluate the potential impact of risk-taking and ski helmet use on ACL injury risk in recreational skiing. Eighty-two ACL injured and 446 uninjured skiers with a mean age of 37.3 ± 11.9 years (52% females) were surveyed during the winter season 2018/19 about age, sex, self-reported risk-taking behavior, self-reported skill level, perceived speed, and ski helmet use. Multiple regression analysis revealed that older age (OR: 1.3, 95% CI: 1.2–1.4), riskier behavior (OR: 5.4, 95% CI: 2.8–10.5), and lower skill level (OR: 6.7, 95% CI: 3.4–13.3) were found to be factors associated with ACL injury, while ski helmet use was not. In conclusion, no support for the risk compensation hypothesis was found with regard to ACL injuries. Therefore, we doubt that ski helmet use increases the risk for ACL injury and recommend wearing a ski helmet due to reported protective effects.

Keywords: alpine skiing; ACL injury; risk factor; risk-taking; risk compensation; ski helmet (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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