Abstract:
BACKGROUND : Our goal was to summarize and contextualize the available literature on alpine ski racing injury epidemiology, injury etiology, injury prevention measures, injury prevention context, and implementation issues.
MATERIALS AND METHODS : We searched four electronic databases using predetermined search terms. We included original studies that assessed injury, injury risk factors, and injury mechanisms, and assessed and reported the effect of an injury prevention measure in alpine ski racing. Two authors independently conducted title–abstract screening, and one performed the full-text review. For data synthesis and categorization, we used the Translating Research into the Injury Prevention Practice framework and a modified and adapted version of the Haddon matrix.
RESULTS : Of the 157 included studies, most corresponded to injury epidemiology and etiology, whereas few studies encompassed injury prevention measure development, implementation and evaluation. Preventive interventions targeting equipment, rules and regulations, course design and snow preparation were the most prevalent in the literature. Furthermore, various contextual factors in the current literature have been found, including gender, competition level, countries and federations, and time periods within a season.
CONCLUSIONS : We provided an in-depth and comprehensive overview of the current state-of-the-art in the alpine ski racing context. We know a lot about little and little about a lot across all the areas associated with injury prevention in such context. The limitations in the literature yield a road map for designing future injury prevention studies to address the key gaps identified. A more comprehensive context-driven approach throughout all stages of injury prevention would benefit the ultimate implementation of effective preventive strategies.
