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First published on April 27, 2007, doi:10.1177/0363546507301083
This version was published on July 1, 2007
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The American Journal of Sports Medicine 35:1070-1074 (2007)
© 2007 American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine

The Incidence of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries Among Competitive Alpine Skiers

A 25-year Investigation

Nicolas Pujol*, Marie Philippe Rousseaux Blanchi{dagger} and Pierre Chambat, MD§,{ddagger}

From the * Orthopaedic Department, Hopital Andre Mignot, Le Chesnay, France, the {dagger} Centre de Medecine du Sport de Haut Niveau, Albertville, France, and the § Centre Orthopédique Santy, Lyon, France

{ddagger} Address correspondence to Pierre Chambat, MD, Centre Orthopédique Santy, 24 Avenue Paul Santy, 69008 Lyon, France (e-mail: pierre.chambat{at}wanadoo.fr).

Background: Little is known about the evolution of anterior cruciate ligament injury rates among elite alpine skiers.

Purpose: To evaluate epidemiologic aspects of anterior cruciate ligament injuries among competitive alpine skiers during the last 25 years.

Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study.

Methods: Data were collected from elite French national teams (379 athletes: 188 women and 191 men) from 1980 to 2005.

Results: Fifty-three of the female skiers (28.2%) and 52 of the male skiers (27.2%) sustained at least 1 anterior cruciate ligament injury. The overall anterior cruciate ligament injury incidence was 8.5 per 100 skier-seasons. The primary anterior cruciate ligament injury rate was 5.7 per 100 skier-seasons. The prevalence of reinjury (same knee) was 19%. The prevalence of a bilateral injury (injury of the other knee) was 30.5%. At least 1 additional anterior cruciate ligament surgery (mean, 2.4 procedures) was required for 39% of the injured athletes. Men and women were similar with regard to primary anterior cruciate ligament injury rate (P = .21), career remaining after the injury (P = .44), and skiing specialty (P = .5). There were more anterior cruciate ligament injuries (primary, bilateral, reinjuries) among athletes ranking in the world Top 30 (P < .001). Anterior cruciate ligament-injured athletes had a career length of 7.5 years, whereas athletes with no anterior cruciate ligament injury had a career of 4.5 years (P < .001). Finally, injury rates remained constant over time.

Conclusion: Anterior cruciate ligament injury rates (primary injury, bilateral injury, reinjury) among national competitive alpine skiers are high and have not declined in the last 25 years. Finding a way to prevent anterior cruciate ligament injury in this population is a very important goal.

Key Words: ski • anterior cruciate ligament injury • sport-specific injuries • prevalence






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