Sport
Snowboarding asks your legs to hold a low, sideways stance and absorb bumps and landings, and your trunk to turn the board, run after run. Both feet are fixed to the board, so you can't step out of a fall: snowboarders go down onto their hands, their bottoms and the backs of their heads, and the wrist is the commonest injury, most often in the first days and on hired kit.
Two things have strong evidence. Wrist guards cut wrist injuries by about three-quarters in trials, and helmets cut the odds of a head injury by about a third. This guide covers what snowboarding asks of your body, the common injuries from wrists to the snowboarder's ankle fracture, terrain parks and jumps, the rules on the slope and for concussion, and the training that goes with performance, with a 10-minute warm-up and a strength and landing workout, each with a 3D demo of every move.
Wrist injuries were 28% of snowboarding injuries at a Vermont resort, against 3% of skiing injuries, and the wrist was the commonest injury in 7,430 snowboarders hurt in Colorado. At one US resort, snowboarders broke their wrists about 18 times as often as skiers.
In a trial of 5,029 snowboarders, 8 wearing wrist guards hurt a wrist, against 29 without them; in a second trial of 721, it was 1 severe wrist injury against 9. Across 6 studies, guards cut wrist injuries by about three-quarters, and the trials found no injuries caused by them.
Across 12 studies of skiers and snowboarders, helmets went with about a third lower odds of a head injury, and no rise in neck injuries. In western Canada, though, more riders wearing helmets didn't mean fewer head injuries reported, so a helmet is no reason to try a bigger jump.
Beginners, riders on their first day and riders on hired or borrowed kit had the most injuries. In Austrian school groups, injuries were most common in the first half-day.
Injuries in terrain parks were more often to the head and back, jumps and the half-pipe caused about 6 times as many injuries per run as rails, and jumps caused two-thirds of snowboarders' spinal injuries at a Japanese resort.
The International Ski and Snowboard Federation's (FIS) experts advise strengthening the legs, trunk and neck, keeping the spine, hips and ankles mobile, and training landings on both legs. No trial has tested fitness training on snowboarding injuries.
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In 8 elite Korean men, simulated competition runs lasted 66 seconds in snowboard cross and 75 seconds in slopestyle. About half the energy came from short, explosive stores and about a third from aerobic work, and snowboard cross drew more on hard anaerobic effort (18.6% of the energy against 12.9%), with higher peak heart rates. Recreational snowboarding on an intermediate run measured 7.38 metabolic equivalents (METs) in 13 young men.
The Compendium of Physical Activities gives 4.3 METs for light snowboarding, 6.3 for moderate and 7.5 for recreational snowboarding in the mountains, all measured; its 8.0 METs for vigorous effort is an estimate. Elite snowboarders' aerobic fitness was no higher than that of students of a similar age, and in national-team freestyle athletes, sex made more difference than whether they snowboarded or skied.
In 10 elite snowboard cross riders and 10 alpine snowboarders, leg strength, power and stiffness went closely with faster race times. In 37 competitive snowboarders, a set of tests (start speed, leg and trunk power and aerobic fitness) explained most of the differences in performance. In 9 Korean national-team riders, balance went with trunk endurance, jump height, knee strength and how far the ankle bends. These are associations; a review concluded that each discipline needs different qualities, with strength and power common to all.
What each part of a run asks for:
With both feet fixed, riders fall forwards onto their hands and knees or backwards onto their hands, bottoms and the backs of their heads. In Japan, snowboarders' head injuries came more often than skiers' from falling backwards and hitting the back of the head. In World Cup crashes, 77% of snowboarders' head-impact falls pitched backwards. Recreational riders fell on one jump in five.
Leg strength and landings on both legs equally, a trunk that can resist and make rotation, a neck that can take a backward fall, wrists and forearms for pushing up off the snow all day, mobility for the upper back, hips and ankles, and interval fitness so your legs last more runs. Training won't protect your wrists in a fall; wrist guards do.
Each study counted injuries its own way (per day on the snow, per run, per visit or per season), so figures in different lines aren't comparable.
The numbers, by group:
In Colorado, half of 7,430 snowboarding injuries were to the arms, and the wrist was the commonest site (21.6%); beginners, women and younger riders broke and sprained their wrists most. Wrist fractures ran at 0.447 per 1,000 snowboarding days against 0.024 in skiers at one US resort. In a series of 6,837 injured snowboarders, the wrist was 62% of fractures, and at one clinic, about half of snowboarders' broken wrists were complex breaks of the kind that often need surgery. At the Milton Keynes indoor snow centre's first year, 96% of snowboarders' injuries seen in A&E (accident and emergency) were to the arms. Our broken wrist, wrist sprain and scaphoid fracture guides cover these.
Shoulder injuries were 8% to 16% of snowboarding injuries in a review, and separations of the joint at the top of the shoulder (the AC joint) were 9.1% at one mountain clinic. In a series of injured snowboarders, elbow dislocations were 30% of dislocations, against 3% in skiers. In World Cup riders, shoulders and collarbones were 13.4% of injuries. Our shoulder dislocation, AC joint and broken collarbone guides cover these.
Head injuries were 9.0% of snowboarding injuries at one mountain clinic, where 84.5% of the injured wore helmets, and 10.9% in western Canada. In Japan, snowboarders' severe head injuries mostly followed falling backwards onto the back of the head, often on gentle or moderate slopes. In US emergency departments, an estimated 5,558 snowboarding concussions were treated in 2014, most often in children and young adults. Our concussion guide covers the graduated return.
Serious spinal injuries were about 4 times as common in snowboarders as in skiers in British Columbia, and jumps caused 77% of them. At one hospital, 3.3% of snowboarding injuries were spinal, against 1.4% in skiers; at one ski area, 4.9% of injured snowboarders had a spinal fracture, often a small one at the side of a lower back bone. Spinal cord injuries mostly followed failed jumps by young, experienced men. Snowboarders' spinal fractures were more often of the tailbone than skiers' (21.5% against 11.5%), mostly from falls at ground level. Our back pain, spinal compression fracture and tailbone pain guides cover these; we don't have a guide to spinal cord injury.
A break of a small piece of the ankle bone (the lateral process of the talus) was 2.3% of snowboarding injuries and 34% of ankle fractures in Colorado, and many weren't visible on ordinary X-rays and needed a CT scan. In laboratory tests, it took the ankle bending up and turning out under load. In 20 patients followed for about 3 and a half years, those treated with surgery did better, and 4 treated without surgery didn't get back to their previous level. Our sprained ankle and broken ankle guides cover ankle injuries; we don't have a guide to this fracture.
Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries were 1.7% of snowboarding injuries, against 17.2% of skiing injuries, at a Vermont resort. But in 35 expert riders, front-knee ACL tears happened landing flat from jumps, and the knee was World Cup riders' commonest injury (17.8%). Our ACL injury guide covers the return.
The numbers, by event:
Associations in the studies:
Falling head first into deep snow or the hollow around a tree has caused more than 70 recorded deaths in two decades in western North America, usually within 15 to 30 minutes of burial.
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No exercise programme or warm-up has been tested on snowboarding injuries. Wrist guards and helmets have the evidence, so they come first; terrain parks have their own section below.
In a trial of 5,029 snowboarders randomised to a wrist brace or none, 8 with braces and 29 without injured a wrist, and "No injuries could be related to the use of the wrist brace"; beginners in their first 5 days and riders on rented kit were most at risk. In a trial of 721 riders randomised to a stiffer, longer protector, severe wrist injuries were 1 against 9; 12 riders secretly took theirs off, including the one who was injured, and other injuries didn't rise. Among 2,355 first-time snowboarders, none of the 551 wearing in-line skating guards hurt a wrist, against 2.2% of the rest.
Across 6 studies, guards cut wrist injuries by about three-quarters, fractures by about 70% and sprains by over 80%: one wrist injury prevented for every 50 riders who wear them. A pooled analysis of 55 snow-sport studies agreed.
The trials found no rise in other injuries. In a study of 2,036 injured snowboarders in Quebec, guards cut hand, wrist and forearm injuries by 85%, while the estimate for elbow, upper arm and shoulder injuries was higher but not statistically significant. A 40-year study at a US resort clinic found guards weren't linked with breaks of the forearm bones and concluded they "are not unsafe to wear". The review's authors call for more research.
No type or design has been shown to work best, and no standard for snowboard wrist guards was found. In laboratory tests, guards raised the force needed to break a wrist, though common designs absorbed little extra energy. In Australia, the main reason riders gave for not wearing guards was that they didn't see the need. Our suggestion: any guard that fits under or over your gloves and lets you hold the board is better than none, and a guard in your pocket doesn't work.
Across 12 studies, skiers and snowboarders in helmets had about a third lower odds of a head injury (35% lower), 59% lower in studies that included children under 13, and no rise in neck injuries. In 8 Norwegian resorts, helmets went with 60% lower odds of a head injury, and snowboarders had more head injuries than skiers. Ten years of ski patrol records in Quebec found no rise in neck injuries or neck fractures with helmets. The American Academy of Pediatrics says bicycling and snow sports have the strongest evidence that helmets work. These are case-control studies, the usual design for this question, and they agree.
In Norway, the link between helmets and fewer head injuries weakened between 2002 and 2011, though it held better for potentially severe ones. In western Canada, helmet use rose from 69% to 80% without fewer head injuries being reported, but ambulance or helicopter transfers for head injuries halved over a decade, a sign of less severe injuries. Helmets are tested at lower speeds than some real crashes: in World Cup falls, riders' heads hit the snow at 7.0 to 10.5 metres a second, above the strictest test speed of 6.8. In a terrain park, though, most recreational riders went slower than 15 mph. A helmet lowers the risk; it doesn't remove it.
Helmet wearers said they rode slower and challenged themselves less. In one survey, wearing a helmet didn't predict risky riding; in another, it went with slightly more, which the authors judged unlikely to outweigh the protection. Riders who wore helmets only sometimes scored highest for thrill-seeking.
The FIS's 10 rules for conduct, approved by the FIS Congress in 2002:
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First-day riders, beginners in their first 5 days and riders on rented or borrowed kit carry the most risk, and injuries peaked in the first half-day of Austrian school trips. Snowsport England says most beginners hire their kit from the club or centre they visit, which usually includes a snowboard, boots and a helmet, and that dry slopes and indoor snow centres are ideal for beginners. Check that your boots fit snugly, your bindings are set for your stance and your helmet fits, and ask for wrist guards (our suggestion).
Lessons help you learn to turn, stop and fall. Whether they prevent injuries hasn't been shown: in one case-control study of first-day skiers and snowboarders in Scotland, people having lessons weren't injured less, and confounding is likely, because the people who book lessons are often the least able. In one series, 93% of injured snowboarders had never had professional lessons, which can't show whether lessons would have helped. Our skiing page reaches the same view.
In Australia, soft boots went with more ankle injuries and hard boots with more knee and lower leg injuries; in Colorado, hybrid boots went with fewer ankle sprains and soft boots with fewer snowboarder's ankle fractures. The studies are old and disagree, so we don't advise a boot type.
In other sports, balance training cut repeat ankle sprains: 22% against 33% over a year in a trial of 522 athletes, and by about a third across 7 trials. The FIS experts add that training landings and knee control may reduce harmful knee loading. No snowboard trial has tested either.
Measures without good evidence in snowboarding:
In elite riders, stronger, more powerful legs went with faster times, and start speed, leg and trunk power and aerobic fitness together explained most of the differences in competitive snowboarders. Snowboard cross draws more on hard anaerobic effort than slopestyle. No training trial in snowboarders was found, so these are associations.
The FIS consensus on training and testing (2025), for competitive skiers and snowboarders:
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In elite snowboard cross athletes, the countermovement jump picked up both short-term fatigue and the gains from a 19-week training block, especially in how the jump was made rather than how high it went. It's a simple test for coaches; it hasn't been studied in recreational riders.
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At a national snowboard cross championship, riders finished warming up a median of 68.8 minutes before their run, and their heart rates stayed low in the last hour, which the researchers judged inadequate. Elite athletes and staff saw a structured warm-up as essential, and the FIS consensus (2025) now describes one: under 20 minutes, then 2 to 3 warm-up runs, and again after breaks of more than 15 minutes or long lift rides.
No snowboard study of tapering was found. Across 27 studies of competitive athletes, mostly in swimming, running and cycling, the best taper lasted about 2 weeks and cut training volume by 41% to 60% while keeping its intensity and how often athletes trained.
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Before the season or a trip: two strength and landing sessions a week for 6 to 8 weeks, plus one interval session a week, such as our Norwegian 4x4 (our suggestion). During the season, one session a week keeps your strength. Make your last hard leg session 3 to 4 days before your first day on the snow, and don't start anything new in the final week.
Young riders: the FIS experts favour simple, development-focused training and a longer off-season.
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At two ski areas over 5 years, 26.7% of injuries happened in terrain parks, mostly to young male snowboarders, and they were more often severe and more often to the head or back. In an Alberta park, jumps and the half-pipe caused 2.56 injuries per 1,000 runs, against 0.43 on rails, and injuries on jumps were more often to the head, neck or trunk. Jumps caused 77% of snowboarders' serious spinal injuries in British Columbia, and two-thirds of snowboarders' spinal injuries at a Japanese resort, at every level of skill.
In 704 filmed recreational jumps, riders fell on about one in five. Landing on the flat or on the knuckle (the top edge of the landing slope), landing with the board badly placed, and spinning tricks all made a fall more likely; the length of the jump didn't.
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In Quebec, removing jumps from terrain parks wasn't an effective long-term way to cut severe injuries; any benefit faded. In western Canada, riders on day tickets were more often injured than season-pass holders on their first two goes on a run.
The FIS experts advise learning new aerial skills in safer settings, such as trampolines, air tracks or landing airbags, before trying them on snow, and training landings on both legs. It's expert agreement; it hasn't been tested on injuries.
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Back protection is compulsory in FIS snowboard cross competitions. A computer model of backward falls found a high risk of spinal injury and noted that back-protector standards don't test how a protector resists the spine bending. No study of back protectors or impact shorts in recreational snowboarders was found.
Look at a jump before you hit it, start on the smallest features, aim to land on the downslope rather than the flat or the knuckle, and keep spins for when your straight jumps are consistent. Wear wrist guards and a helmet, and ride the park when you're warm and fresh, not on your last run.
GB Snowsport has its own protocol for its licensed athletes: ten days of symptom-free testing and monitoring before full training and competition, and for under-19s at least 29 days from a suspected concussion. Everyone else follows the UK guidelines for grassroots sport: if in doubt, sit them out; off the slope for the rest of the day; assessed within 24 hours by a healthcare professional or NHS 111 (the National Health Service's urgent advice line); a graduated return; and no competition before day 21. Our concussion guide sets out each stage.
Snowboarders' severe head injuries mostly came from falling backwards onto the back of the head, and so did most head impacts in World Cup snowboarding. In a Korean university snowboarding course, possible concussions ran at 10 per 100 snowboarding sessions, even after a concussion class raised students' knowledge. Keep your chin tucked when you fall backwards (our suggestion; untested).
FIS: "The use of crash helmets is compulsory for all snowboard events." Helmets must be made for the discipline, carry a CE mark and meet a recognised standard, and snowboard cross helmets must also pass a harder test at 6.8 metres a second.
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Hypothermia is a body temperature below 35°C and needs A&E or a 999 call. To avoid frostbite, the NHS advises several loose layers with a waterproof outer layer, a hat and scarf, gloves or mittens, thick socks and boots, and eating and drinking regularly when you're in the cold for long periods.
You can get altitude sickness above about 2,500 metres. If symptoms get worse or don't improve after a day, the NHS says go 300 to 1,000 metres lower if you can.
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The NHS: "Reflected sunlight from snow, sand, concrete and water ... is particularly dangerous." Use sunscreen of at least factor 30 with 4-star protection against ultraviolet A (UVA) rays, and wear sunglasses.
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Most deaths in deep snow happen within 15 to 30 minutes of being buried. Off the groomed runs and among trees, ride with a partner who keeps you in sight (our suggestion, from the review's findings).
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In the Dolomites, 43% of 200 skiers and snowboarders with major injuries who were tested had high blood alcohol, and snowboarders reported drinking on recent ski days more often than skiers. Don't drink and ride.
Built on the structure the FIS consensus on warm-up (2025) recommends: raise, activate, mobilise and potentiate, in under 20 minutes, then 2 to 3 warm-up runs, and again after breaks. It's expert agreement, not a trial, and it hasn't been tested on injuries. The moves and doses are ours (editorial), from the site's ski warm-up and other warm-ups.
Loading the 3D figure…
The movement on the figure: Snapdown to athletic landing
The strength and landing workout's legs, landings, trunk rotation, wrists and neck, with the warm-up's landing and mobility work. Each has a 3D demo.
3D demoDumbbell goblet squatIntermediate · A dumbbell
3D demoRear-foot-elevated split squat (Bulgarian split squat)Intermediate · A bench or box
3D demoSingle-leg Romanian deadliftAdvanced · A dumbbell
3D demoBox drop landingIntermediate · A step
3D demoSnapdown to athletic landingBeginner · No equipment
3D demoSingle-leg hop and stickIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoHalf-kneeling Pallof pressBeginner · A band + An anchor point
3D demoCable wood chopAdvanced · A cable machine
3D demoSide plankIntermediate · No equipment
3D demoWrist curlsBeginner · A dumbbell
3D demoIsometric neck holds (four-way)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoBalance board standBeginner · Other / check instructions
3D demoKnee-to-wall ankle rockBeginner · A wall
3D demoWrist & forearm flowBeginner · No equipmentThe first two are new: a warm-up for the top of the slope, and a strength and landing workout. The others add the ski fitness workout, knee control, jumps, balance, wrists, ankles, intervals, the neck, the back and recovery after a concussion.
A 10-minute warm-up at the top of the slope with your boots on: a march, arm and hip circles, trunk turns, wrist work, squats in your stance and landings.
10 minBeginner10 movesA wallA 45-minute pre-season session for snowboarders: squats and single-leg work, box drops and landings, Pallof presses and wood chops, wrists, neck and balance.
45 minIntermediate19 movesA wall, A dumbbellA 40-minute pre-season workout for skiers and snowboarders: squats, split squats, single-leg hinges, side-to-side strength, landings and balance.
40 minIntermediate17 movesA wall, A dumbbellA 7-minute warm-up for the top of the slope with your boots on: a march, arm and hip circles, leg swings, trunk turns and wrist circles, then your stance.
7 minBeginner10 movesA wallA 20-minute warm-up that trains your knees to track over your toes: side-hip strength, squats and lunges with alignment practice, balance and quiet landings.
20 minBeginner10 movesA wall, A bandAn advanced jump training session: pogo hops, box jumps, split squat jumps, broad jumps and depth jumps.
30 minAdvanced8 movesA bench or box, A stepBalance practice in 10 minutes: tandem stance, single-leg stands, marches, heel walks, tree pose and floor transfers.
10 minBeginner7 movesA wall, A bench or boxWrist mobility and forearm strength for desk work, climbing, push-ups and handstands.
10 minBeginner7 movesA wall, A dumbbellA 15-minute barefoot routine for stronger toes, arches, calves and ankles, finishing with balance. You need only a towel, a wall and a resistance band.
15 minBeginner11 movesA wall, Other / check instructionsA 45-minute session for skaters: jump squats, drop landings, hops and bounds, squats, split squats and single-leg hinges, ankle balance, wrist work and trunk.
45 minIntermediate20 movesA step, A dumbbellThe Norwegian 4x4, a well-studied interval session for raising VO2 max: four 4-minute hard efforts with 3 easy minutes between, on a bike, rower or treadmill.
40 minIntermediate3 movesCardio machine, A wallDeep neck holds and shoulder-blade strength in under 20 minutes: one of the best-supported kinds of exercise for a stiff, sore neck.
18 minBeginner11 movesA band, An anchor pointThe McGill big three for the core: curl-ups, side planks and bird dogs, each held for 10 seconds at a time in falling sets of 5, 3 and 1 reps.
12 minBeginner3 movesNo equipmentA 15-minute hip opener: 90/90 switches, windshield wipers, CARs, Cossack squats, frog and pigeon.
15 minIntermediate8 movesA wallA 20-minute light session after a concussion: a symptom check, 10 to 15 minutes of easy cycling or walking, gentle bodyweight moves and a cool-down.
20 minBeginner8 movesCardio machine, A bench or boxA 10-minute cool-down for after a run, a class or a gym session: a few minutes of easy movement, stretches for the muscles you used, then slow breathing.
10 minBeginner9 movesCardio machine, A wallTwo strength sessions a week before the season suit most riders; keep the hardest ones away from your travel days.
Two full-body strength sessions a week: the minimum that meets health guidelines, with every set, rep and rest, and an 8-week progression.
2 training days45 minBeginner3 days a weekA 12-week beginner barbell program: squat every session, alternate bench and row with press and deadlift, and add weight each time until it stalls.
3 training days50 minBeginner3 days a weekThree full-body home workouts a week with dumbbells or no equipment at all, plus walks and an 8-week plan to keep progressing.
3 training days35 minBeginner3 days a weekA 3-day strength plan for men over 40 with power and bone work, two cardio days and mobility, built on research on ageing muscle.
3 training days45 minBeginner3 days a weekA weekly plan for women over 50: strength, bone-loading and balance on 3 days plus walking, built on UK osteoporosis consensus advice.
3 training days45 minBeginnerThe PAR-Q+ (Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone) asks about a heart condition or high blood pressure, chest pain, dizziness or losing consciousness, other long-term conditions and their medicines, a bone or joint problem that activity could make worse, and being told to exercise only under supervision. If you answer yes to any, check with your doctor or a qualified exercise professional first. If you're over 45 and not used to hard exercise, ask a qualified exercise professional before the hardest sessions, and delay if you're ill.
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The first days carry the most risk. Wear wrist guards and a helmet, start on easy slopes, and consider learning on a dry slope or at an indoor snow centre, where hired kit usually includes a helmet. Lessons help you learn to turn, stop and fall.
Among injured Australian snowboarders, under-16s had about 4 times the odds of a broken wrist, and helmets cut the odds of a head injury most in studies that included children under 13. A helmet and wrist guards every time, and supervision in parks. Our guide to exercise for children covers the rest.
Cold, altitude and hard effort add up. See your GP before a trip, and build your fitness first with the workouts below. Our skiing page notes that skiers who did hard exercise more than once a week were less likely to die suddenly while skiing, an association.
Falls onto the wrist, hip and spine are snowboarding's commonest way of getting hurt. Ask your GP first; easy runs, wrist guards and no park are sensible (our suggestion). Our osteoporosis guide covers safe exercise.
The NHS says it may take up to 16 weeks to fully return to some sports after a dislocated shoulder, and experts landing big jumps tear the front-knee ACL. Get clearance from your physio or surgeon, wear wrist guards, and leave jumps until you're cleared.
Our epilepsy guide explains that in the International League Against Epilepsy's grouping, snowboarding is a sport where a seizure could injure you but not others. Ride with someone who knows, and don't ride lifts alone (our suggestion).
The NHS advises against sports where you could fall or bump your tummy, and our pregnancy guide lists snowboarding among activities with a high risk of falling. Talk to your midwife or GP.
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No riding until your graduated return reaches full training, and no competition before day 21. If you hold a GB Snowsport licence, its own protocol applies.
The NHS says to call 999 if someone has hit their head and:
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Off the slope: if in doubt, sit them out. No return that day, and an assessment within 24 hours by a healthcare professional or NHS 111. Contact NHS 111 straight away if they're being sick, feel dizzy or take medicine that thins the blood, and don't drive yourself to A&E after a head injury.
Go to A&E or call 999 if the arm or wrist is numb, tingling or has pins and needles, a bad cut is bleeding heavily, a bone is sticking out, or the arm or wrist has changed colour or shape or is at an odd angle. Pain in the hollow at the base of the thumb after a fall needs an X-ray even if the wrist moves; our scaphoid fracture guide explains why.
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Go to A&E if your shoulder has changed shape, swollen very quickly or has bone sticking out, you're bleeding heavily, or you have difficulty breathing, chest pain or are coughing up blood. Go to A&E if you can't move your arm or the shoulder looks out of place, and don't try to put it back in yourself.
Call 999 or go to A&E for back pain with pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs, loss of feeling around the genitals or bottom, changes in your bladder or bowels, chest pain, or pain that started after a serious accident. After a neck injury, get urgent help for tingling or pins and needles on one or both sides, problems walking or sitting upright, a sudden "electric shock" feeling, or weak hands, arms or legs. With a suspected neck or back injury, don't move them, and call the ski patrol (our suggestion).
Call 999 or go to A&E if you heard a crack, the ankle has changed shape or points at an odd angle, it's numb or tingling, or the skin is blue, grey or cold. Pain on the outside of the ankle that doesn't settle like a sprain should may be a snowboarder's ankle fracture: ask for it to be checked.
Get advice from NHS 111 if your knee is very painful, you can't move it or put weight on it, it's badly swollen or has changed shape, or it locks or gives way.
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Shivering, pale, cold and dry skin, blue or grey lips, slurred speech, slow breathing, tiredness or confusion can mean hypothermia: go to A&E or call 999. Get them somewhere sheltered, take off wet clothes and wrap them up, but don't use a hot bath or rub their arms and legs. Call 999 or go to A&E for frostbite with hard, frozen skin, swelling and loss of feeling, or blisters.
Get medical help immediately, and go 300 to 1,000 metres lower if you can, for confusion, problems with balance, seeing or hearing things that aren't there, breathlessness at rest, a cough with frothy or bloody spit, blue or grey lips, or being hard to wake.
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Call 999 if someone faints while exercising, or has chest pain that doesn't go away, spreads to the arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness.
Call for help and dig them out at once: death can follow within 15 to 30 minutes.
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Two trials found far fewer wrist injuries and no injuries caused by the guards. A case-control study's higher figure for elbow and shoulder injuries wasn't statistically significant, and guards weren't linked with forearm breaks. The benefit to wrists is strong; the shift up the arm is unproven.
Snowboarders have far fewer ACL injuries but more wrist, shoulder, ankle and head injuries, and several resort studies found more injuries overall. Our skiing page notes a pooled analysis that found the opposite for amateurs, so overall risk is unsettled.
Helmets cut the odds of a head injury by about a third, but more riders wearing them hasn't meant fewer head injuries reported. They lower the risk; they don't remove it.
No rise in neck injuries across 12 studies, or in 10 years of Quebec ski patrol records.
In one case-control study, where confounding is likely, people having lessons on their first day weren't injured less. Lessons are for learning to turn, stop and fall; they haven't been shown to prevent injuries.
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As skill rises, falls and collisions become less common, but jump injuries and their severity rise. Experts tear knee ligaments landing big jumps, and failed jumps by experienced young men cause most spinal cord injuries.
No study links balance-board training with better riding or fewer injuries, and a 6-day snowboard course didn't change balance. The FIS experts put the weight on strength, landing quality and keeping both legs equal.
Recreational snowboarding measured 7.38 METs in young men, and the Compendium gives 4.3 to 7.5 METs. Ridden hard, it makes you breathe hard and fast, which the NHS counts as vigorous activity.
The snowboarder's ankle fracture looks like a sprain and is often missed on ordinary X-rays. Pain on the outside of the ankle that doesn't settle needs checking.
Squats, split squats and single-leg hinges for your legs; box drops and single-leg landings; trunk work that resists and makes rotation, such as Pallof presses and wood chops; and wrist, forearm and neck work. In elite riders, leg strength and power go with faster times, and the FIS's experts recommend strengthening the legs, trunk and neck and training landings on both legs. Our strength and landing workout puts these together.
Yes, especially as a beginner, on hired kit and in the park. In two trials, wrist guards cut wrist injuries sharply without causing other injuries, and a review found one wrist injury prevented for every 50 riders who wear them.
It's different. Snowboarders hurt their wrists, shoulders, heads and ankles more and their knees less, and several resort studies found more injuries overall in snowboarders, though a pooled analysis on our skiing page found the opposite for amateurs. Wrist guards change the picture most.
Helmets cut the odds of a head injury by about a third, by more in children under 13, with no rise in neck injuries, and they're compulsory in FIS competitions. They don't prevent every concussion, so a helmet is no reason to try bigger jumps.
A break of a small piece of the ankle bone, from landing or twisting with the ankle bent up. In Colorado it was a third of snowboarders' ankle fractures, and many weren't visible on ordinary X-rays. If pain on the outside of your ankle doesn't settle like a sprain should, ask for it to be checked.
No study has tested a falling technique in snowboarders. Falls cause most arm injuries, and backward falls onto the back of the head cause many serious head injuries, so wear wrist guards and a helmet, keep your chin tucked, and try to land on your forearms, bottom or side rather than your hands (our suggestion).
About 10 minutes at the top with your boots on: march, arm and hip circles, trunk turns and wrist work, squats in your stance, then small landings and single-leg balance, followed by 2 or 3 easy runs. That follows the FIS's 2025 expert consensus, which also advises warming up again after breaks of more than 15 minutes and long lift rides.
If in doubt, sit them out: stop for the day and get assessed within 24 hours by a healthcare professional or NHS 111, then follow a graduated return, with no competition before day 21. Athletes with a GB Snowsport licence follow its own protocol.
Yes. Recreational snowboarding measured 7.38 METs in young men, and the Compendium gives 4.3 to 7.5 METs depending on effort. Riding hard makes you breathe hard and fast, which the NHS counts as vigorous activity.
The NHS advises against sports where you could fall or bump your tummy, and our pregnancy guide lists snowboarding among activities with a high risk of falling. Talk to your midwife.
Exercise education for people who play sport, not a personal prescription or a diagnosis, and clinical review of these pages is pending. Check with a GP or physiotherapist before hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or an injury that isn't settling, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
