Ski Injury Prevention Tips

WINTER IS UPON US! And that means many of you will be gearing up for a few fun-filled months on the slopes. We are here to help if you do hurt yourself, but we would rather you didn’t! Here are a few basic injury prevention tips:

1. Build up gradually. Most people will have 8-9 months off from skiing or snowboarding. Where possible try to build up your volume gradually. This may be easier to do if you are planning on going to the mountains regularly. Plan your longer trips deeper into the season and limit the daily volume for the first couple of trips.

2. Take time to become familiar with new equipment. If you are using new gear, build up the volume to allow your body to adapt, and avoid excessively intense work or more dangerous runs until you are comfortable.

3. Most injuries occur late in the day. Have regular breaks to manage fatigue.

4. Use the necessary safety equipment, and especially for beginners, try to take advantage of buttock pads, wrist guards etc., to decrease the injury risk associated with falling.

5. Get ski-fit!

Just like any other physical activity, performance, as well as injury risk will be much improved if your body has the capacity to tolerate the loads required. We will demonstrate some specific exercises in other posts, but a preparatory program should include:

-General cardiovascular fitness training. It’s difficult to simulate the exact cardio demands, however any cardiovascular exercise will help decrease the likelihood of fatigue-related injury

- Strength training. Strength work should be done in a variety of different rep ranges and planes of movement. It is also important to incorporate static holds in the bottom position to help replicate stress on the lower limbs

- Power training. It is also important to include jumping and landing work to develop the power required to push off, and absorb force safely.

- Trunk strengthening. As well as the lower limb, the abdominal and trunk muscle strength should also be addressed.

If you do happen to injure yourself, our physio team is here to help.

#skiing #snowboarding #injuryprevention