Numerous ski areas are already open, the 2G rule applies. The situation in the hospitals is still very tense due to the coronavirus situation. The KFV advocates prudent behavior. Only at the beginning of the month three ski tourers from Upper Austria were buried and killed by a large slab of snow in an avalanche in Salzburg’s Lungau, and two more were injured, we reported. Even if the holidaymakers are still missing, locals could take advantage of the wintry weather and the good conditions. According to KFV, there were 40,000 winter sports accidents in the last pre-pandemic season. The 15,000 expected for this season relate to all sports and are based on similar conditions as last year. If everything is opened – especially the hotels – the KFV expects around 30,000 injuries from various winter sports incidents.
There are one or two hospital-treated injuries for every 100 winter sports enthusiasts. It can be assumed that there will be a decrease in piste accidents due to pandemic-related restrictions, but many skiers are now being drawn from the piste to ski touring, which means that the accidents are increasingly shifting to the free ski area. “From the accident data of the last few years we know that around a third of the people who have had an accident in winter sports have to be treated as an inpatient due to the severity of the injury,” said Johanna Trauner-Karner, Head of the Sports and Leisure Safety Research Department at the KFV. With an average inpatient treatment duration of six days, even if the number of accidents is low, there are still hundreds of hospital beds that are occupied per day in the winter season – a high additional burden for the hospitals, warns the KFV.
In the past winter of the pandemic, many Austrians did not have the opportunity to ski. The lack of training poses a particular risk for inexperienced skiers, warned the KFV. A lack of stamina and rusty skiing technique can quickly lead to painful injuries such as broken bones (54 percent of all skiing injuries) as well as tendon and muscle injuries (32 percent). Therefore, this year it is particularly important to build strength and coordination through ski gymnastics before skiing, advises the KFV.
Particular caution also applies when tobogganing: head injuries are not uncommon, on the contrary, they are the top priority in serious accidents. A helmet is an important companion for both children and adults. Children sit more safely behind the adult than in front, emphasized the KFV.
Source: Nachrichten
