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Is ski boot sole abrasion a potential ACL injury risk factor for male and female recreational skiers?
Author(s) -
Posch Markus,
Ruedl Gerhard,
Schranz Alois,
Tecklenburg Katja,
Burtscher Martin
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1111/sms.13391
Subject(s) - medicine , abrasion (mechanical) , acl injury , anterior cruciate ligament , zoology , physical therapy , surgery , biology , mechanical engineering , engineering
Objectives To evaluate the potential impact of ski boot sole abrasion on the ACL injury risk of recreational skiers. Methods During the past two winter seasons 2016/17 and 2017/18, this retrospective case‐control study was conducted in one Austrian ski area. Among a cohort of 148 ACL‐injured (51.4% females) and 455 uninjured recreational skiers (43.3% females), age, sex, height, weight, and self‐reported skill level were collected by questionnaire, ski length and sidecut radius were notated and sole abrasion of the toe and heel piece of the ski boot was measured using a digital caliper. Results ACL‐injured skiers showed a higher proportion of female (51.4% vs 43.3%, P < 0.001) and less skilled skiers (48.6% vs 20.9%, P < 0.001), and ski length to height ratio was higher (94.7 ± 3.7 vs 93.8 ± 5.0%, P = 0.019) compared to uninjured skiers. ACL‐injured skiers used ski boots of greater abrasion at the toe (4.8 ± 1.8 vs 2.4 ± 2.5 mm, P < 0.001) and heel piece (5.4 ± 1.8 vs 3.3 ± 2.3 mm, P < 0.001) compared to controls. Multivariate regression analysis revealed, beside female sex (OR 6.0, 95% CI, 3.1‐11.5, P < 0.001), lower skill level (OR 3.2, 95% CI, 1.9‐5.4, P < 0.001) and ski length to height ratio (OR 1.1, 95% CI, 1.0‐1.2, P < 0.001), sole abrasion at the toe (OR 1.8, 95% CI, 1.5‐2.1, P < 0.001) and heel piece (OR 1.4, 95% CI, 1.2‐1.6, P < 0.001) to be independently associated with an ACL injury among recreational alpine skiers. Conclusions Based on the underlying findings, ski boot sole abrasion was found to be an independent risk factor and may contribute to an increased ACL injury risk.