Skiing and Injury Prevention

Precision Physio’s Tips for Skiing, and Injury Prevention.

Who doesn’t love skiing, mountain air, blue skies and white slopes; coupled with après ski, some fondue and open fires, who could ask for more?

But all too often skiing holidays are the cause of many injuries that could easily be prevented with these simple tips.

Need I say it, but preparation is everything!!

Hitting the slopes unfit is a sure way to get injured! Very few people consider whether their bodies are fit enough to withstand the stresses of skiing every day for 7 days. It isn’t just the cardiovascular stress but the impact through muscles and joints too, that makes for a total body work out all day long.

The Majority of people ski for a couple of weeks a year with poor preparation. This can lead to what is commonly known as skiers’ knee, or “Patella Overload”. Skiers Knee is predominantly caused by poor body alignment and muscle imbalance around the knee. Due to these imbalances the patella (knee Cap) can move slightly out of position, leading to pain occurring when squatting and lunging for long periods.

Anterior Cruciate Ligament injuries are also becoming increasingly common with skiing. They most often get injured during twisting and falling accidents, for example getting off chair lifts or being unable to snap out of your bindings when falling.

To help decrease your chances of injury, try following some of these tips this season:

1. Preparation is everything

Get to the gym before you go skiing, practice lunging, and squatting ideally at least 8 weeks before you are due to ski, but better late than never. Or seek a pre skiing exercise program from your physio. Make sure your legs and bottom are ready for the slopes, this way there is less chance of fatigue caused accidents. You will also have a better idea of whether you’re likely to get any knee pain and you can seek professional help prior to hitting the slopes.

2. Take lessons

Professional coaching will mean, better technique, which means better body positioning. Better technique means less stress on your joints, and less chance of injury.

3. Check your bindings

Know your accurate weight and ensure that your Din settings are appropriate. This dictates how easily your skis snap out of your bindings and should be set for your ski ability.

4. Get plenty of rest

Most accidents occur on the afternoon of the 3rd day of skiing. Muscle fatigue reaches a peak at this point.

And Last but not Least:

5. Be careful about drinking Alcohol at Lunchtime

It will reduce your reaction times and make you overestimate your abilities. The black mogul run might not seem such great choice if you haven’t had a few glasses ….

If you need any advice on skiing injury prevention and rehabilitation: please call us on 07850379161

#skiing #injuryprevention #skiingpreparation