Cross-country skiing injuries and biomechanics

Cross-country skiing exercises most of the joints, muscles and tendons in the body giving the skier an all around workout. This, in combination with a low incidence of injury, makes cross-country skiing an ideal recreational and competitive sport. The new skating techniques developed during the last decade have resulted in greater velocity. The maximum speed during the diagonal stride technique is 6 m/sec compared to 8 to 9 m/sec when skating and double poling. Top-level skiers today use strong and ultra light skis of fiberglass and graphite. The ski weight is less than 500g. Today's skating technique does not require any waxing and only the cambered portion of the ski is waxed when performing the diagonal stride. The preparation of the ski course has improved with the development of special track machines. This allows top-level skiers to reach 60 to 80 km/h on downhill slopes, which has resulted in an increased risk of injury. Because cross-country skiing takes place wherever snow is available, it is difficult to establish accurate injury rates in comparison to alpine skiing which is performed on very specialised terrain at ski areas. Studies estimate the cross-country ski injury rate in Sweden to be around 0.2 to 0.5 per thousand skier days. A prospective study of cross-country ski injuries conducted in Vermont revealed an injury rate of 0.72 per thousand skier days. 75% of the injuries sustained by members of the Swedish national cross-country ski team during 1983 and 1984 were overuse injuries while 25% resulted from trauma. The most common overuse injuries included medial-tibial stress syndrome, Achilles tendon problems and lower back pain. Most common among traumatic injuries were ankle ligament sprains and fractures, muscle ruptures, and knee ligament sprains. Shoulder dislocation, acromioclavicular separation and rotator cuff tears are not infrequent in cross-country skiing. Injuries to the ulnar collateral ligament of the metacarpal phalangeal joint of the thumb (Stener's lesion) is the most common ski injury involving the upper extremity. Cross-country skiers 16 to 21 years of age complained more frequently of mild lower back pain than similarly aged non-skiers. This may result from repetitive hyperextension motions during the kick phase and the recurring spinal flexion and extension during the double poling phase. Repeated slipping on hard and icy tracks infrequently produce partial tears or microtrauma in the muscle tendinous units of the groin.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)