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Top UK slalom skier suffers broken back in training

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Charlie Guest, the UK number one female alpine slalom skier, fractured vertebrae in her spine after falling and landing on a boulder, see BBC News

Quote:
"She credited her coach's insistence she wear a back protector on the day of the crash for the fact her injuries were not more severe. The run was only the third time Ms Guest had worn her back support while training for the giant slalom, and she now wants to see the safety gear become compulsory for all skiers."

Cue back protector debate (well it makes a change from helmets! wink )

Where's DG when you want him? Toofy Grin
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Are back injuries much of a risk for non-professional skiers? I can't find very much in the way of recent stats on spinal injury occurrence, but they seem pretty rare.

Maybe if you spend a lot of time jumping off cliffs or playing in the terrain park, but even then it seems that a big chunk of the injuries seem to be compression related, and you'd need an exoskeleton to protect against that, not a back protector!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
looks like she also banged her head, coming out with claptrap like that rolling eyes
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@Serriadh, Skiing trees a possible risk too? A lot of us like to play in trees
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Loads of people seem to wear them these days - a sign of gnarl, perhaps?
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@pam w, I have one in my pack, I think since having the little one ive become a little safety crazy. Ordinarily I wouldnt have bothered, but even if a helmet, back protector, abs, etc etc save you just once in your life time then thats once enough.

Others will totally disagree and thats absolutely fine - their body, their life, their family.
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I'm really surprised she has only just started wearing them.

All the race kids wear them here.
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Many years ago I compression fractured my spine in what ought to have been an otherwise innocuous fall (albeit in a moguls competition). I would not want to repeat the experience.

I'm slightly surprised she hasn't been wearing one previously as well.
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PaulC1984 wrote:
@Serriadh, Skiing trees a possible risk too? A lot of us like to play in trees


Beats me, but it does seem like it might be tricky to hit a tree with the middle of your back at speed (maybe if you'd just slid off a piste...). I bet you'd be more likely to smash into a tree front-on, so you'd probably do better with a full-face helmet and/or arm protection. Again, can't find any useful statistics on facial injuries (lots of places just lump it in with all other head injuries, annoyingly).

I suspect snowboarders would benefit more from a back protector than skiers.

Oh, and when I said 'non-professional' above I probably should have said 'non-competitive'.
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@Serriadh, I do have a full face helmet Happy - My thought would be if you fell and went backwards into a tree - ive seen it done (albeit slow speed)

I think we will just have to put it down to peoples personal choice as with helmets otherwise we will go round and round and ........ Toofy Grin
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Serriadh wrote:
PaulC1984 wrote:
@Serriadh, Skiing trees a possible risk too? A lot of us like to play in trees


I suspect snowboarders would benefit more from a back protector than skiers.



Why? because us skiers attack them from behind, or to protect their lower back from all the sitting around they do Happy
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
My regular snowboarding buddy has been wearing one for general riding for a couple of years now. No particular reason other than it makes sense to him, although we're not above doing a bit of light park sometimes I certainally wouldn't classify him as pro-Gnar... By the sound of it, Guest was really unlucky in her fall to have done what she did.
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Well in DG's absence, I'll post the obvious question:

Have SCGB/BASI/any other ski organisation issued a policy statement on the wearing of back protectors?

Toofy Grin
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@Alastair Pink, No but I bet before long they will have a policy on wiping your own back bottom,
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PaulC1984 wrote:
I think we will just have to put it down to peoples personal choice as with helmets otherwise we will go round and round and ........ Toofy Grin


Oh, don't get me wrong... I'm not anti-back-protector, its just that incidence of the sort of back injuries they protect against is pretty low. I'm just not pro-back-protector, like I'm pro-helmet wink

PaulC1984 wrote:
because us skiers attack them from behind, or to protect their lower back from all the sitting around they do Happy


Pretty much wink But mostly, they *can* fall directly backwards just sliding around normally, whereas skiers tend to have to work at it.
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@Serriadh, indeed, although I was on Tims facebook page earlier and found this, poor guy - OUCH!

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152030352664178&set=vb.150393364177&type=2&theater
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@gryphea, I agree that all the kids I know wear them as well when racing and snowboarding from my experience. They are still growing so makes sense to protect them every way you can.

I also wear impact shorts, body armour, helmet and just about everything else that I use when mountain biking when I am on my board, but then I am a wimp! It hurts when you fall down or hit something hard.

All personal choice. be happy.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Quote:

Are back injuries much of a risk for non-professional skiers? I can't find very much in the way of recent stats on spinal injury occurrence, but they seem pretty rare.


I pulled my back muscles big time when I crashed on the Saslong and one ski didn't come off, a couple of years ago. I had to stop skiing and go to the doctors. 2nd day out of 10 days, so I was not a happy bunny. Sad Fortunately I was OK and skied every day just fine, but it still took 9 months before my back fixed itself properly.
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@Serriadh, I knew kid who broke his back on a tree at revelstoke. He was fine after mending, but his dad reckoned a back protector would have prevented the break.

I think it is a fairly rare occurrence, but they are fairly easy to wear and if they fit properly (which is v important) they don't do any harm. Obviously they only protect a bit against impact injuries and not muscular.
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I wear one on my motorbike, it's more comfy in hot weather as it creates a bit of an air channel between your back and the leathers. If I'm having a big park session I'd wear it for that too, or if I was doing a lot of drops in rocky terrain. Otherwise I would not bother. But racers get a lot more speed up, even hitting a gate pole at ground level is a big impact and that is more likely.
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I road race a motorcycle and always wear a back AND chest protector. Surprisingly neither are obligatory for road racing in the UK!

Occasionally wear one when I'm skiing - should wear one all the time I guess.
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Do backpack count as back protector? Toofy Grin
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After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Alastair Pink wrote:
Well in DG's absence, I'll post the obvious question:

Have SCGB/BASI/any other ski organisation issued a policy statement on the wearing of back protectors?

Toofy Grin


Very good.

Agree with the head injury comment - why has she not been wearing one for years if racing/race training, particularly GS?

I must be mega gnar because I've worn one for 14 years after smashing a shoulder blade apart in a bike accident taught me what sliding into an immovable object at speed could do to your skeleton.

Mid you WTF was a boulder doing on her training course? I know it's a low tide year but there is swimming with sharks and skiing aggressively at them at speed.
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abc wrote:
Do backpack count as back protector? Toofy Grin


Sorta if it's got your shovel in it (& there's no other reason right cos backpacks for the spare fleeces and emergency jester hats are for punters?)
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@Dave of the Marmottes, And if its got a back protector built in of course
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Dave of the Marmottes wrote:
(& there's no other reason right cos backpacks for the spare fleeces and emergency jester hats are for punters?)
punters who go play in trees?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
I wear a back protector ever since a total lady's front bottom skied into my back, breaking two ribs in verbier 5 years ago. Nothing to do with gnarl for me, all to do with a cheap bit of added insurance against dummies. Funnily enough, mrs sangers was spared fairly serious injury by hers when she slipped on the wet floor of the zermatt station ski room, landed on the flat of her back like the worst teenage mutant ninjaa turtle ever. I did laugh (quietly)
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It happened almost 2 weeks ago. She hasn't actually broken her back in the spinal sense. The BBC report could be more accurate.

'...due to the impact have fractured 4 of the transverse processes on the left side of my Lumbar spine (so the bits that stick out from your vertebrae)'
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
[quote="irie"]I road race a motorcycle and always wear a back AND chest protector. Surprisingly neither are obligatory for road racing in the UK!

Me too but I've never even considered taking them skiing.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Alastair Pink wrote:
Well in DG's absence, I'll post the obvious question:

Have SCGB/BASI/any other ski organisation issued a policy statement on the wearing of back protectors?

Toofy Grin


I just knew there was a conspiracy somewhere. They'll be photos of some of the directors somewhere holding people down and forcing them to wear them.
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@skison, Yup, it was reported a while ago. It's going to write off this season though after all the effort she put in Sad Racers play such a huge gamble that they will not suffer a season or even career changing injury every time they leave a gate Sad
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@Scarpa, Mine wasnt leaving the gate, it was crossing the finish line in a duals slalom - woke up with a fractured shoulder and wrist Evil or Very Mad Still I got 12 weeks fully paid sick leave to recover from the op and the insurance payout covered the living room renovation - silver lining and all that Toofy Grin
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@PaulC1984, Fuckin scrounger!!!
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@Scarpa, You pay into these things for a reason Happy - I was tilling the living room floor with 1 arm in a sling! Made such a good job with 1 arm, compared to the 2 arm effort in the bathroom that the wife threatened to break me again when she needed more DIY doing (like she needs an excuse) Toofy Grin
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How did we go from scrounger to Be Nice please! Scrounger Happy
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and why do you get to say the F word, when mine just comes up as a smiley face!!
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