White Paper functionality and efficacy of wrist p

Authors: Frank I Michel KaiUwe Schmitt Richard M Greenwald Kelly Russell Frank I Simpson David Schulz Mike Langran

Publish Date: 2013/03/14

Volume: 16, Issue: 4, Pages: 197-210

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Abstract

The wrist is the most frequently injured body region among snowboarders Studies have shown that the risk of sustaining a wrist injury can be reduced by wearing wrist protection Currently there are a wide variety of wrist protection products for snowboarding on the market that offer a range of protective features However there are no minimum performance standards for snowboarding wrist protectors worldwide The International Society for Skiing Safety convened a task force to develop a White Paper to evaluate the importance and necessity of a minimum performance for all wrist protectors used in snowboarding The White Paper outlines the need for a general framework for a harmonized international standard and reviews the existing evidence Therefore this White Paper may serve as a common base for future discussions The broader goal of developing and implementing such a standard is to reduce the incidence and the severity of wrist injuries in snowboarding without increasing the risk of adverse events such as upper arm or shoulder injury The European standard for inline skating wrist protectors EN 14120 can serve as a starting point for efforts related to a standard for snowboard wrist protectors but certain modifications to the standard would be required It is hypothesized that implementation of a snowboarding wrist protector standard would result in fewer and less severe wrist injuries in the sport and could translate into more riding days for healthy snowboarders and significant healthcare costs savingsSnowboarding is relatively new compared with alpine skiing The origin of snowboarding lies in surfing and skiing 1 Anecdotes tell of early experiments with a standup sled in the 1920s in Europe 2 The first commercial snowboard was launched in 1965 when Sherman Poppen introduced the “Snurfer” snowsurfer 1 2 3 In the 1970s snowboard pioneer Dimitrije Milovich offered his “Winterstick” which is considered to be the first modern snowboard 2 4 Before this few people considered riding a snowboard in high alpine terrain and on slopes with more than 50° inclination 5Between 1970s and 1980s snowboarding gained international popularity 4 6 Snowboarding was a demonstration sport during the 1994 Olympic Winter Games in Lillehammer Norway 7 During the 1998 Olympics in Nagano Japan snowboarding debuted as an official Olympic sport in the disciplines of halfpipe and parallel giantslalom racing 6 7 Currently Olympic snowboarding disciplines include halfpipe snowboard cross and parallel giantslalom racing for both men and womenThere are an estimated 10–15 million riders worldwide and it is particularly popular among adolescents and younger adults 6 8 9 However evidence suggests that the average age of snowboarders is increasing 10 During the 2009/10 winter season there were approximately 82 million in the United States compared with 115 million alpine skiers and 45 million crosscountry skiers 11 This represented a 20  increase in snowboarders from 68 million in the US and an 11  decrease in alpine skiers from 104 million compared with the 2006/07 winter season 11 A higher proportion of the US snowboard population were male 66  which is similar to alpine skiers 60  11 Snowboarders tend to be younger than skiers with approximately 54  between 6–24 years old and 31  between 6 and 17 years old 11 In addition the number of snowboarders has increased in Canada from 12 million in 2004/05 to 16 million in 2009/10 representing an increase of 33  10 Snowboarding is also very popular in Europe An estimated 438000 people snowboard every year in Switzerland 12 Around 5  of the Swiss population aged 15–75 years and 11  of children and adolescents 10–14 years also participate annually 12 13 14 15 The Mach Consumer Survey 2011 declared that 5  of the Swiss population 14 years snowboard on a regular basis and 11  snowboard at least once a season 16 This represents a 11  increase since 2001 Active snowboarders number around 500000 and 700000 in Germany and Austria respectively 9 17The increased popularity of snowboarding is clearly reflected within the snow sports industry Over the 2011/12 season the US snow sports market conducted a record business volume of 33 billion 11 For example products purchased at snow sports specialty stores in the US increased by 18  between the s 2006/07 17 billion and 2010/11 seasons 20 billion Online sales rose by 41  in the same time period to 652 million in 2010/11 11 Snow sport accessories including gloves and mittens reached sales of approximately 12 billion in 2010/11 an increase of 9  in units and 14  in dollars when compared with the previous season Within the apparelaccessories category gloves and mittens had sales of 125 million and 40 million respectively 11 However the data did not distinguish between glove and mitten use by snow sports or between gloves/mittens with or without protective elementsOverall the risk of injuries while snowboarding is higher compared with alpine skiing 18 19 20 A literature review found that the injury risk ranged from 08 to 80 injuries per 1000 snowboard days 7 Moreover upper extremities are the most frequently reported injured body region 7 19 21 Wrist or upper extremity injuries comprise 35–45  of all snowboarding injuries 19Variety of wrist protectors regarding concepts technology functions and design features focused on protection characteristics a Red® short dorsal and palmar splint palm padding b Flexmeter® FlexMP dorsal and palmar splint palm padding c Level® Biomextechnology positioned on the palmar side of the wrist

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