Relationships Among Knee Injuries, Q-angles, and Competition Levels in Female Ski Racers

Abstract

AbstractPrior research has focused solely on the prevalence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in male and female alpine ski racers and on the Q-angle, the angle created between the quadriceps muscles and the patella tendon, in ways unrelated to alpine ski racing. A survey was sent to female alpine ski racers who represent the academy U16 level through World Cup professionals that included questions regarding the athlete’s racing level, Q- angle, and past knee injuries. A total of 124 responses were collected. Just under half (45.16%) of the survey participants reported a history of at least one knee injury. A great majority, 83.33%, of the Professional athletes reported tearing their knee at least once, which is 3.04 and 1.90 times more than athletes of the Pre Professional and U16 levels respectively. Athletes with a Q-angle of 15° or 20° had torn 85.26% of the total ligaments with the ACL, MCL, and meniscus being the most frequently torn ligaments. From this self-reported data, it is clear that Q-angles and racing level both influence the frequency of ligament tears in female alpine ski racers. An athlete competing at a higher level of competitive ski racing is more likely to tear a knee ligament than those at lower levels, and larger Q- angles influence the risk of injury as well as injury to specific ligaments within the knee.