829 MEP005 – ‘Every turn can be the last one i do’ – perceptions of injury risk in high-performance snow sports and its implication for injury prevention

AbstractBackground High-performance snow sports athletes compete in a performance-driven context with a high risk of injury. There is a lack of evidence on effective prevention measures in snow sports, despite available knowledge on several injury risk factors and proposed prevention strategies.Objective To explore the perspectives and perceptions of high-performance snow sports stakeholders on sports injury prevention.Design Exploratory qualitative study with semi-structured interviews, following principles of Grounded Theory.Setting High-performance snow sports athletes competing on the World Cup and European Cup circuits of alpine skiing, snowboarding and free skiing.Participants Eleven athletes, coaches, and healthcare professionals from different national teams, including Switzerland, Finland, Germany, Liechtenstein, and Italy.Interventions Exploratory study about sports injury prevention in snow sports without intervention.Main Outcome Measurements Athletes' and staff's perceptions and emerging concepts based on constant comparative data analysis.Results Participants defined risk management as a central concept in which they approached injury prevention by assessing, managing, and sometimes accepting risks. Many factors, such as athlete-related and external factors, are considered in this process, ultimately influencing their decision-making. Participants acknowledged the value of experience when managing and dealing with risks, an essential aspect of their learning process and career development. Open and trustworthy communication and shared responsibilities among all stakeholders influenced and shaped injury prevention strategies and behaviours in this context. Understanding and balancing speed and associated risks was considered pivotal in their daily practice. Conclusions Given the high-risk nature of high-performance snow sports, injury prevention calls for a shift toward risk-management strategies. Our findings highlight for this process, the critical importance of contextual factors and their interactions with injury risk. Therefore, we conclude, that injury prevention awareness, ownership, communication, teamwork and shared responsibilities may contribute to the success of sports injury prevention in high-performance snow sports.