Important Kiting Study - Please Help

ricki · Since 30 Jun 2006 26 Posts

"Hi my name is Kevin, and as part of my doctoral studies at Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions I am investigating participation levels in kiteboarding and events that lead to the occurrence of injuries in kiteboarding.

I have developed an on-line survey that is 100% anonymous and confidential. Would you mind filling out the survey?

You can enter the survey even if you have not had any kiteboarding injury. I need 281 subjects to have a valid study. I have included the Sign-Up form which can be accessed through;

http://www.stats-consult.com/survey-signup.html

The information from the survey is going to be vitally important for kiteboarders considering risk management issues, orthopedic surgeons and rehabilitation specialists in understanding the unique causes of injury found within the sport of kiteboarding.

Once you have read the consent information and sent it back to us, the software will send you out the survey which should take about 3-4 minutes to fill in.

Thanks for participating.

Kevin"

This survey can be completed rapidly and could do both riders and assisting medical professionals some good in dealing with and perhaps even avoiding some future injuries. I believe the results are to be published in a medical journal and may also be available online.

The survey is open to ALL kiters so please take a few minutes to help out in this study.

Thanks,

FKA, Inc.

transcribed by:
Rick Iossi

ricki · Since 30 Jun 2006 26 Posts

Kevin passed along some more specifics about his study listed below. There have been very few studies like this, perhaps four worldwide that I have heard about since kitesurfing was started.

There is much we don't know and would benefit from learning about kiting injury mechanisms, not only folks in the kiting industry but also care givers such as orthopedists, surgeons, rehab. specialists and the like.

Specific Aims:
The overall purpose of this study is to determine the frequency, severity and mechanism of injury in beginner, intermediate and expert kiteboarders.
Specific aims include:
•To determine the likelihood of injury based on experience levels of kiteboarders.
•To determine if experience levels (beginner, intermediate, or expert) influence the frequency, severity and mechanism of injury sustained by kiteboarders in each of these skill level groups.
•To determine if specific kiteboarding activities predispose kiteboarders to increased injury.

Specific Questions to be Addressed:
•What is the likelihood (odds ratio) of injury for beginners relative to intermediate kiteboarders, and beginners relative to expert kiteboarders?
•What is the likelihood of beginner kiteboarders sustaining an injury within the first 20 hours of kiteboarding?
•How severe are injuries sustained by the kiteboarders in the beginner, intermediate and expert groups?
•Is there a specific maneuver (jumping, landing, etc.) that elevates the risk of sustaining a kiteboarding injury to beginner, intermediate and expert kiteboarding groups?
•Does familiarity with equipment influence the rate of injury in kiteboarding?
•What is the distribution of injuries to the body in kiteboarding?

I believe this is an important study, please participate if you can. It is open to all kiteboarders whether injured in the last year or not.