While similar in many ways, skiing and snowboarding do have their differences. These sports variety greatly when it comes to the type of injury typically sustained by participants. Conditioning for Skiing requires speed, strength, balance and flexibility. Snowboarding requires similar conditioning however, the way the body moves in both sports is fundamentally different. This difference tends to result in very different injuries in each sport.
Skiing tend to result in more knee injuries .
The typical skiing injury involves torque-type injuries to the knees and lower extremities. In snowboarding, both feet are strapped onto the same board and always point the same direction. This protects the knee from any twisting. However, the upper-extremity is in the position to take the force of a fall. When snowboarders fall, they land on their hands, shoulders, rear-ends, or heads.