Have Your Best Ski/Boarding Season Yet! Expert Advice From Dr. Tony Day, DPT I recently returned from a two week training camp working with the US. Para Olympic Ski Team in Portillo, Chile. For most of Colorado an August start to the ski season is not an option. However snow is on Sopris and A-Basin will open a few runs this weekend. Injury prevention can start now with preseason conditioning, at your local ski shop finding suitable and properly fitted protective equipment, as well as common sense while on the mountain. I hope that you can find a few pearls for your preparation and injury prevention this season from this article. Pre-season training should begin long before you take your first turn at Snowmass. A good conditioning program will keep you healthy and strong throughout your day. Many injuries happen at the end of the day when you are tired. The higher your fitness levels are the longer you will be able to ski and keep yourself safe on the hill. A good conditioning program should consist of cardio and weight training, balance and plyometric activity, core strengthening and stretching. Focus your strengthening exercises on functional movements that you will see when skiing such as squatting, lunges and single leg activities. Keeping the repetitions lower (5-10) will help add strength to your legs so you can get out of those tricky situations you may find yourself in. Using a BOSU ball or other unstable surfaces can be good tools to help with balance and coordination. Also dont forget to add in some plyometric activities. Some of my favorites are using sport chords for additional resistance, jumping lunges and lateral ski jumps on and off of a box. The Core is essential for all human movement as it provides midline stabilization. This is a topic of special interest to me and something that I place a high priority on for the majority of my patients beyond those suffering from lower back pain. One thing that comes up a lot is doing sit ups to strengthen your core. We sit all day and should not spend our time getting better at sitting. This exercise shortens a muscle group that is already short. When you are choosing core exercises pick ones that challenge your ability to maintain a neutral spine - such as side planks, planks, bird dogs (see picture) or come talk to one of our therapists about creating a personalized progressive core stabilization program. One key group of muscles to focus on stretching is the hip flexors. The hip flexors are comprised of several muscles - two primary muscles of this group are the rectus femoris which attach from the the front of the pelvis to the top of the knee, and the psoas which goes from your lower back through your torso and attaches to the femur. This group of muscles can get short and tight if we do a lot of sitting. During a typical ski trip - sitting is a very large part of the experience. We sit on our drive to the resort for at least 30 minutes each way, we sit on the chair lift and we sit at lunch. This can create a significant amount of tension to the knee as well as the lower back. Do yourself a favor and prevent this from becoming an issue. My favorite way to open the front of the hip up is with a stretch called the couch stretch (see picture). This can be done in the kneeling position - a few key points to complete this stretch effectively is keep a tight core or squeeze you bum. This prevents you from extending in your spine and keeps the stretch where it should be. For a more advanced stretch or to put more of a stretch to the rectus femoris prop your knee up onto a chair. But remember keep a neutral spine!!! Some tips for when you are preparing your equipment this season should always be to wear a helmet!! The National Ski Areas Association states that wearing a helmet can reduce your risk of injury by 30-50%. These are relatively common but if you are entering the sport this is something that should be purchased. Another safety consideration is the use of wrist guards especially in the younger snowboarding generations. A physician from the University of Utah found that snowboarders are five times more likely to sustain an injury to the wrist compared to a skier. I would also recommend anyone who is looking into picking up snowboarding or skiing for the first time to take lessons. According to the National Ski Areas Association a 50% reduction in injury rates compared to those who did take a lesson to those who did not. Along with stating that beginners are the most commonly injured and green runs are the most common site of injury. Snow sports are a lifetime activity and we want everyone to stay safe on the hill. If you are just starting out I would highly recommend wearing the proper safety equipment as well as learning from the many skilled instructors in the area. I hope that you are able to take a few points away from this, please contact us if you have any questions at either one of our locations in Carbondale or New Castle.
Posted on: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 04:05:40 +0000