Intra-articular calcaneal fracture in a 14-year-old competing skier: case report

Intra-articular calcaneal fracture as a skiing injury in children is extremely rare. We report on what we believe is a unique and previously unreported mechanism of a skiing injury, which caused intra-articular calcaneal fracture in a young competing skier, a member of the Croatian national ski team. This 14-year-old boy sustained a heel injury while training for giant slalom. There was no fall on the heel or obvious axial force that could have caused this type of calcaneal fracture. The skier had sophisticated equipment and used carving skies. We speculated that, when the skier tried to establish the lost balance during the fall, a violent contraction of triceps muscle occurred. Instead of an injury of a well-protected tuber or Achilles tendon, the strong pulling force of the Achilles tendon was transmitted more distally and anteriorly, generating axial compression force, which caused an intra-articular fracture of the calcaneus bone. Obviously, the existing ski boot did not sufficiently protect the calcaneus bone. We postulate that the calcaneal tuber and Achilles tendon were protected on the expense of the intra-articular calcaneal fracture. Our case warns of the possibility of a serious foot injury in young top skiers in spite of extensive improvement in the ski equipment. Sophisticated carving skis could be a contributing factor to an injury.