Introduction: Alpine skiing is a Slovenian national sport. It is a high intensity workout with a relatively short duration. To assimilate knowledge of skiing, primary motor skills are necessary: power, speed, coordination, flexibility, balance and precision. In skiing, injuries are very frequent, among them, nearly half are knee injuries. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis in to define risk factors for knee injuries among alpine ski racers based on the literature review. Methods: We used a descriptive method with a literature review. The articles were obtained from the online database PubMed, using the key words skiing AND knee injury AND risk factors. We included articles that were published in English between the years 2000 and 2019, and those who studied risk factors for knee injuries in alpine ski racers. Results: We analyzed 7 articles, of which 3 were retrospective studies, 2 cohort studies, 1 case-control study and 1 systematic video analysis. There were no differences between injured and non-injured athletes in anthropometric data. The difference in general physical fitness between injured and non-injured was not statistically significant. More successful skiers have a higher incidence of anterior cruciate ligament injury. There is no difference in the incidence between male and female skiers. Athletes with anterior cruciate ligament injury have a higher share of parents with the same injury. In some studies racers in technical disciplines suffer more injuries, in others, racers in speed disciplines have more injuries. Skier’s technique and strategy, snow, competition conditions and aggressive equipment have an impact on injuries. Discussion and conclusion: There are only a few studies in the field of alpine skiing world cup injuries. To prevent these injuries, we first need to define the causes and risk factors for them. Based on our literature review, the following risk factors for knee injuries in alpine ski racers have been defined: side-to-side leg difference in explosive muscle power, core muscles strength and their imbalance, less years of experience, more successful athletes, ski discipline, bumps on course, inconsistent snow conditions, challenging course setting and jumps and aggressive ski equipment. More research is needed in order to introduce definite preventive measures.
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