Where to Ski And Snowboard - Schumacher injuries are rare says expert

Schumacher injuries are rare says expert

17th June 2014, by Abi Butcher

Michael Schumacher suffered 'relatively rare' injuries in a skiing fall

A leading ski injury doctor is reminding skiers that the accident suffered by Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher is rare.

Yesterday (Monday 16 June) Schumacher’s agent Sabine Kehm released a statement to say the racing driver had been moved to a hospital in Switzerland and is now out of his coma. Though it is not clear what his current condition is, experts say he has a long and hard fight ahead.

The German racing driver has been in a medically-induced coma in intensive care in Grenoble University Hospital since 29 December, when he was skiing off-piste near the Dent de Burgin chairlift and hit his head on a rock.

Although the 45-year-old was wearing a helmet at the time, Schumacher suffered serious head injuries and underwent a series of operations and has been in a coma since.

UK doctor Michael Langran is president of the International Society for Skiing Safety (ISSS), director of the Scottish Snow Sports Safety Study and UK secretary of SITEMSH (International Society for Skiing Traumatology and Winter Sports Medicine).

Dr Langran told Where to Ski and Snowboard that severe injuries of this nature are “thankfully relatively rare”.

“The vast majority of the millions of skiers and snowboarders who take to the slopes worldwide enjoy their sport year after year without ever being involved in a serious accident,: said Dr Langran, who runs ski-injury.com.

He added: “I wish Michael all the best in his continued recovery.”

Yesterday’s update on Michael Schumacher was the first substantial update for two months. In early April, Ms Kehm said he was was showing “moments of consciousness and awakening.”

At around the same time, F1’s former chief doctor Gary Hartstein wrote in his blog: “As time goes on it becomes less and less likely that Michael will emerge to any significant extent.

Schumacher is a keen skier and owns a chalet in the French ski resort of Méribel in the Three Valleys. His fall prompted a surge in demand for ski helmets.