Article Talking Points
4 minute read
- Warm-ups
- Protective gear and equipment
- weight training
- Alert and Awareness
- Essential resting
Skiing is one those fun and exciting sport you can enjoy during winter. It's not only fun, but it also helps to burn calories and improve your fitness levels.
Skiing is often being touted as the best sport to participate in during winter. However, as it engages must muscles groups, this also means that our entire body is susceptible to injuries.
In fact, injuries can easily happen during skiing. From your shoulder, back and neck to ankle and knees, injury in these areas are common. Some of the most frequent occurrence among skiers include injuries to the ankle sprain, rotator cuff, and knee ligaments. And in certain serious cases, it could take up to several months for full recovery.
So before you head out to the slopes this winter season, ensure you have done everything possible to prevent injuries from happening. Safety on the slopes is the foremost priority.
In this article, we will look at the top 5 ways to help you prevent injuries and enjoy skiing to the fullest this season.
Let's dive in!
1: Proper Warm Up
The first step would be to have the discipline to perform proper warm up before hitting the slopes/ Not performing any stretching at all is one of the most common reasons why injuries occur as cold muscles are more prone to injuries.
Utilise stretching to improve flexibility, increase the range of motion, and avoid muscle tears. You should also include some active warm-up exercises such as jumping jacks, brisk walking, and slow ski runs in your 15-20 minutes warm-up routine to elevate your heart rate.
And before you start skiing, drink some water to prevent dehydration and stay physically active.
2: Place Emphasis on Appropriate Protective Gear and Equipment
Poorly functioning or wrongly adjusted equipment is another frequent cause of injuries. Having the right protective gear and safety equipment could be the key difference between you staying injury free or be at the risk of incurring injuries and dislocation.
Gear such as a helmet is important in preventing dangerous head injuries. Studies have shown that the use of helmets by skiers decreases the risk of head injuries and the data has proven that they are lifesavers, as 22% of head injuries from skiing caused loss of consciousness or concussion. Due to the findings of the study, the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma now recommends all skiers to wear helmets.
Besides helmets, having wrist guards, knee, and elbow pads are also highly recommended for add extra protection and decreases the rate of injuries (well worth the investment).
Here is a checklist to follow:
- Wear water and wind-resistant clothing and have layering to keep you warm.
- Wear a helmet. added protection: Wrist guards, knee, elbow pads.
- Ensure equipment and gear are fit and fastened properly.
- Optional – Bring a lip balm or moisturiser for dry lips and skin.
3: Perform Weight Training
Adding regular weight training is not only great for your overall health and fitness, it's also effective at preventing your body from getting injuries.
Besides skiing on the slopes, perform weight training exercises such as barbell squats, dumbbell lunges, leg press, close-grip bench press and plank to strengthen your core and leg muscles (quadriceps and hamstrings). This will help enhance stability and mobility while skiing.
Your legs and core muscles play a key role in ensuring controlled skiing on the slopes to give you an overall pleasant skiing experience.
If you are looking for the weight training program, we have put together the exercise routine here.
4: Alway Stay Alert and Be Aware of The Conditions
Stay alert and be mindful of the changing weather conditions on the day. If you are unfamiliar with the snow condition, dangerous falls can happen.
While you are on the slopes, be aware of the people around you as there will be skiers at various skill levels out there on the trails with you.
Don't try to impress your friends and start on a difficult terrain. Apply proper skiing techniques and stay on the marked trails at all times. Going off trail can take you into unknown territory with hurdles such as trees and rocks and a collision could result in serious injuries.
5: Have Ample Rest
This is an easy tip, yet very difficult to follow as we all want to ski for as long as possible on the slopes!
The best advice would be to always listen to your body.
Take a break whenever you need to, fatigued muscles are more prone to injuries at the end of the day. And even a well-conditioned body would need some rest to allow the muscles to recuperate.
And while you are resting, keep yourself hydrated with water and consume some light snacks for energy.
Conclusion
Skiing is a fun sport and serves as a great exercise for both pro and recreational skiers.
While the risk of injury is always present when you hit the slopes, you can always take protective measures to reduce the risk and prevent injuries altogether.
Here's a recap of the few tips we've discussed above to help you prevent common ski injuries:
- Proper warm-up
- Place emphasis on appropriate protective gear and equipment
- Perform weight training
- Always stay alert and be aware of the conditions
- Have ample rest
If you follow the 5 steps above, you will have a better chance of staying injury free and have a great skiing experience throughout winter.
Happy skiing! and over to you.
Let us know in the comments below your thoughts on the 5 ways to stay injury free during this season? Have you started skiing?