Winter is Coming!!
Winter is coming...
That means ski and snowboard season is upon us! Two of the best pastimes around, but, as with any impact sport, sometimes injuries occur.
Injuries can include but are not limited to the knee, head, shoulder, thumb, and wrist.
Common examples are:
Skier’s thumb
MCL sprain
ACL sprain
Meniscus injuries
Rotator cuff strain
Below are some tips to help reduce the risk of injury while you are enjoy the fresh powder!
Warm-Up
Goal: Increase blood flow to the muscles and increase your heart rate to prepare for activity.
How: Dynamic stretching. Dynamic stretching involves taking your body through range versus statically holding a position.
Duration: ~25% of overall exercise duration
Examples: Arm circles, lunge walks, hip turnouts, leg swings, high knees, side shuffle, karaoke
Cool-Down
Goal: Transition the body to a resting or close to resting state - lowering heart rate, blood pressure, blood pooling.
How: Slowing down the intensity of the activity.
Duration: ~25% of overall exercise duration
Examples: Brisk walk to a slow walk, slower pace down the slope, stretching
Posterior Chain Strengthening Exercises, such as those listed below, offer a proactive approach to injury prevention or reduction.
Lunge
Deadlift
Squat
Bridge
