From the White Slopes to the Emergency Department: An Analysis of Winter Sports Traumas in Kars

Objective: Winter sports inherently possess dynamics that can lead to physical traumas and injuries. In this study, we aimed to investigate the injury patterns among patients admitted to the emergency department due to winter sports-related injuries, and to analyze how these types of injuries vary according to the patients' use of protective equipment and Body Mass Index (BMI). Materials and Methods: This retrospective, single-center study was conducted with trauma patients admitted to the emergency department during the 4-month winter season when skiing and snowboarding are actively practiced. The patients' age, gender, BMI, type of sport, anatomical region of injury, radiological imaging results, protective equipment utilization, and treatment outcomes were analyzed using hospital records. Results: In the study, which included a total of 43 patients, it was observed that 65.1% (n=28) of the participants had a normal BMI. Based on the radiological imaging performed due to the injuries, no orthopedic pathology was detected in 55.8% (n=24) of the patients. Fractures were observed in 75% (n=12) of the skiing group. The overall rate of protective equipment use among the study population was approximately 79%. More than half of the patients (51.2%) were discharged as outpatients following simple medical interventions in the emergency department. It was determined that fractures detected in radiological imaging were significantly more common among younger individuals (p