Fractures of the tibial shaft after skiing and other accidents.

Fractures of the tibial shaft from skiing accidents were compared with fractures of other etiology. Skiing fractures more often affected the lower third of the tibia and they seldom were open. Many were comminuted or transverse but displacement tended to be slight. The incidence of complications was low and the periods of hospitalization, of healing, and of inability to work were shorter than for the other fractures. The highly favorable prognosis was evident whatever the method used for treatment. Methods of treatment of tibial fractures should not be compared on the basis of experience with skiing fractures, because of the exceedingly favorable prognosis of the latter.