Whether you’re an expert or a complete novice, skiing and snowboarding injuries tend to pop up at the most inopportune times. According to recent studies, skiers suffer three injuries every 1,000 skiing days, whereas snowboarders suffer anywhere from four to sixteen injuries per 1,000 days.
Any mountain sport will always have an inherent risk, but prevention efforts limit the potential for serious skiing and snowboarding injuries. Here are a couple of the most common winter sports injuries and what steps you can take to prevent them from causing long-term consequences.
*Note: You’ll notice that concussions were not included on this list. Concussions account for 20% of annual skiing and snowboarding injuries; the only way to prevent them is by wearing a well-fitting helmet. No matter your skill level, every skier and snowboarder on the mountain should always wear a helmet.
ACL and PCL injuries typically occur because both feet are firmly planted (attached to your skis or snowboard) and twisting your knee. Since your knees are so crucial to movement while moving down the mountain, it’s incredibly easy to hear the familiar “pop” of something tearing in your ACL or PCL.
One way to limit ACL and PCL injuries before skiing and snowboarding are by adding hamstring strengthening exercises to your workouts. Hamstrings protect the ACL, so making them stronger helps lower your risk of a knee injury.
A big concern for skiers is the debilitating skier’s thumb. This is a ligament tear resulting from an accident while holding your skiing pole, and your thumb gets jammed into the snow as you fall. These are serious injuries that frequently require surgery.
Outside of thumb IP flexion exercises, the best way to avoid a skier’s thumb is to practice throwing away your poles while falling. If you’re not holding onto your poles, this allows your whole hand to hit the snow, thus preventing your thumb from slamming into the ground.
Wrist injuries are the most common upper limb injury for skiers and snowboarders. A recent study of snowboarding injuries concluded that 78% of all wrist injuries and 50% of all hand injuries were fractures.
When you land in the snow, the first thing your body naturally does is throw out your hands to protect the rest of your body, which results in stretching or tearing ligaments in your wrist.
Two ways to prevent serious wrist injuries are wearing wrist guards or a pair of winter gloves with wrist protectors built-in. These take the brunt of the force when falling, thus protecting your wrists from potential fractures or sprains.
The Division of Sports Medicine at Stanford University recently revealed that rotator cuff strains and tears were the most common injuries amongst skiers and snowboarders. Incorrect pole planting or an unexpected fall onto hard snow causes an impact on your arm that passes up to the shoulder joint, causing it to twist.
How fast you’re going doesn’t matter; any fall on the mountain can cause a rotator cuff sprain or tear.
There are ways to limit the possibility of a rotator cuff injury. First, perform exercises that strengthen the muscles around your shoulder (AAOS Rotator Cuff Strengthening Program). Secondly, practice good posture as it stretches and strengthens your shoulders and back muscles.
Any snowboarding or skiing fall at high speed can cause irreparable damage to your body. Twisting, turning, and slamming your body into the ground sometimes results in the most common spine injury for winter sports enthusiasts: the herniated disc.
These whiplash-causing accidents cause terrible pain and potentially life-changing effects on your spine.
First, you should know that if you have back pain or a herniated disc, do not go skiing or snowboarding without speaking with your doctor.
Depending on the severity of the injury, you may be told that going out on the mountain is too dangerous. Two ways to prevent a herniated disc is to practice good posture daily and frequently exercise, strengthening the muscles in your back.
The experts at CORE Orthopedics want to help you stay on the mountain this year with a wide range of services. Don’t let an injury get in the way of your winter fun.
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