Ski injuries on the rise as winter sports take off

How dangerous is skiing as a sport for those who are not athletes?

This question swirled around the internet recently after a doctor in the Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region posted that seven of the nine surgeries he'd performed in a single day last week were the result of by injuries caused by skiing.

As the wry hashtag "the end of the ski trail is orthopedics" became a hot topic on social media platforms, enthusiasts began to share bittersweet memories of snow-covered slopes.

In Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi province, a first-timer surnamed Duan told local media that she fell and broke her wrist when snowboarding earlier this month. 

"I went with my friends mainly to take pictures," she was quoted as saying. "The ticket cost me 195 yuan ($30.7) and I thought it was only worth paying it if I tried the blue square (medium-level) slope."

Duan ended up paying nearly 500 yuan for treatment. "Skiing is still a lot fun but it is important to keep safe. I would suggest that less experienced skiers stick to green circle (beginner) slopes," she said.

Zhang Wei, an orthopedist at the Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University, said that with the rise in popularity of winter sports since 2015 — the year China won the bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics — the number of patients with ski injuries has also registered a marked increase. 

The country now has 650 ice rinks, a 317 percent increase on 2015, and the number of ski venues has risen by 41 percent to more than 800, authorities said earlier this month. They added that nearly 350 million people have participated in winter sports. 

During an interview with news website Paper.cn, Zhang said that based on his clinical experience, tail bone and wrist fractures are the most common injuries for beginners, while the more skillful are prone to joint and ligament injuries resulting from high speeds and collisions.

An estimated 4.5 per 1,000 skiers are injured on a daily basis, according to a study of skiers seeking treatment at a major ski resort in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province over the course of the two winters from 2017 to 2019. 

The survey also found that skiers aged 21 to 30 are at the highest risk, and that injuries resulting from falls are the most common.

Zhang said there is no need to exaggerate the dangers of the sport.

"Skiing is challenging but interesting if one gets professional training and remains aware of one's abilities," he said. "The destination at the end of a slope should be health and happiness. That lies at the core of any sport."

Chen Ying, an orthopedist at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing, said that the public should be urged to exercise caution and remain vigilant while skiing. 

He added that doing a proper warm-up and using the right equipment are both essential. "Whether one chooses a slope for beginners or for veterans depends on one's skill and physical strength," Chen said.