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November 23, 2018
Are you planning a snow sports holiday? Have you struggled with niggles in the past that have prevented you from enjoying your getaway to its full potential? If yes, keep reading!
Here at The Treatment Room, we understand the demands of various snow sports and what is required of your body when you’re heading down the mountain. We want to help make sure that you are physically equipped for skiing and snowboarding, by reducing your chances of sustaining an injury.
If you’ve had an injury before, of any kind, you are at significant risk of another one. When your body suffers an injury, you reduce your range of motion in the affected area, your muscles may have weakened, or your nervous system will have experienced changes; all of these leave you slightly less robust than before.
And even if you haven’t sustained an injury previously, the physical demands and risks involved in snow sports mean the more you can prepare now, the less likely you are to pick one up, and the more you can enjoy your holiday!
Our Treatment Room expert, Georgia, has provided us with her top tips on injury prevention this ski season:
Increase muscular strength
This is a key component of fitness and helps your body to resist external forces. When skiing and snowboarding, the muscles of the legs and core must be able to hold certain positions for extended periods of time, whilst absorbing substantial amounts of force from the icy surface. Your ability to maintain correct body positioning during each run is very much related to muscular strength and endurance.
Improving the strength and endurance of your leg and core muscles will help you ensure you can maintain optimal positioning during each run of the slope. Increased strength will also improve your efficiency, reduce muscle fatigue and minimise your risk of sustaining an injury.
The range of motion in your joints
This plays a huge part in becoming a confident skier or snowboarder. Joint stiffness or joint restriction is suffered by many for a prolonged period of time post-injury. To be able to maintain the correct skiing position, your knees, hips and ankles need to be very mobile whilst able to withstand the correct stance.
Following an injury, in order to improve strength and range of motion, the following exercises may be suggested. For example:
Ski squats/wall sit (body weight or with added weight)
Sit with your knees parallel to the ground and hold.
Banded crab walks
These are a great way to activate and strengthen your glutes. Put a band around your knees, knees bent slightly and a flat back, slowly take side steps.
Calf raises
These are a great exercise to improve calf capacity and mobilise your feet and ankles too. On one leg at a time, lift up on to your toes and slowly lower back down.
Also, give this a try: when standing from a seated position, try and get up using one leg! This will help to strengthen your legs and increase your ability to support yourself on one leg at a time.
Our practitioners in The Treatment Room have access to all the facilities at Surrey Sports Park. We work closely with our in-house Personal Trainers and Strength & Conditioning Coaches to work as a team to get your body is the best condition for on and off the slopes!
Book your initial consultation with us now so that you’re ready for the ski season by calling us on 01483 682136 or email thetreatmentroom@surrey.ac.uk