Common Snowboarding Injuries

Snowboarding has grown in popularity during the past couple of decades. Snowboarding utilizes different mechanics than skiing in the fact that you are strapped to one plank and your torso is rotated 90 degrees to your direction of movement.

Many snowboarders enjoy the half pipe where they can perform tricks while in the air, while others prefer the speed of downhill racing or negotiating varying degrees of difficult terrain. With snowboarding, falls are the cause of most injuries.

Hard-packed or icy conditions lead to more fractures of the upper extremities and concussions. Conversely, powder days lead to more sprains or ligament tears.

Proper safety equipment such as wrist splints and helmets should be worn at all times while riding to help prevent injuries and time lost on the mountain.

Head

  • Concussion

Knee

  • Medial Collateral Ligament Sprain (MCL)
  • Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Tear
  • Patellar Tendinitis (Jumper’s Knee)
  • Osgood-Schlatter Disease
  • Meniscus Tears

Shoulder

  • Shoulder Labral Tears

Hand & Wrist

  • Scaphoid Fractures
  • Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex (TFCC) Tears

Knee

  • Medial Collateral Ligament Sprain (MCL)
  • Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Tear