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Injuries in the Sport of Luge

Epidemiology and Analysis

Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University

Abraham T. Shurland, MS

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

John A. Prodoehl, MD

Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University

Kevin Moody, AT,C

Sports Medicine Clinic, United States Olympic Committee, Lake Placid, New York

Henry H. Sherk, MD

Medical College of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University

We undertook this study to determine the types and frequency of injuries sustained in the sport of luge. Before this study, no data were available in the medical literature on luge injuries. We performed a retrospec tive analysis between the years 1985 and 1992 using data obtained from the athlete injury and illness report forms at the US Training Center Sports Medicine Clinic in Lake Placid, New York. During the 7 years exam ined, 1043 athletes took 57, 244 track runs and sus tained 407 injuries. The risk of sustaining an injury was 0.39 per person per year, and the risk of an injury causing the loss of more than 1 day of practice was 0.04 per person per year. Contusions were the major injury (51%), followed by strains (27%). Strains of the neck muscles and contusions of extremities, especially the hands, were characteristic injuries sustained by athletes. The most serious injuries were concussions (2%) and fractures (3%). Crashes were responsible for 64% of injuries. Luge appears to be a relatively safe sport with injury rates comparable with recreational alpine skiing.