It's Snow Time!
Read on to find out how you can avoid the
most common ski injuries this winter
Dear Sports Performance Bulletin reader,
You don’t need me to tell you the risks involved in skiing. Attaching yourself to two elongated planks and hurtling down the side of a snow covered mountain at 40mph says it all!
However aside from the obvious breakages associated with the occasional big fall you do in fact have other injury concerns that may hamper your skiing on a regular basis.
Skiing is just like any other sport in that you are placing your joints and muscles under continuous strain.
Your shoulder joints are used to increase and maintain momentum as you are travelling.
Your wrists control your movement via the use of ski poles.
Your knees are used for balance and weight bearing
And your ankles are secured to the skis and as a result are placed under immense pressure.
I bet you didn’t quite realise how many joints you were using at one time and just how much strain you were placing them under!
The range of movements required to ski results in the constant twisting and turning of your joints and this, combined with the general wear and tear, often leads to injury. Taking into the account the inevitable number of falls and tumbles you will experience in any one skiing session it is fair to say the chance of injury is high.
As a result it’s only natural that you will want to offer yourself support and protection- I mean can you think of anything worse than paying all that money only to injure yourself on your first ski down the mountain?
What a nightmare! Whilst your friends are flying down the side of the mountain time after time having the time of their lives you’re left watching on the side, nursing a sprained ankle or dislocated shoulder.
Take a look at these common skiing injuries and treatment recommendations from pre-eminent physiotherapist Martin Haines: 1. Shoulder InjuriesType: Dislocation |
Symptoms: Extreme pain and inability to move the shoulder. The shoulder may also be locked by virtue of the mechanical distortion.
Causes: Uncontrolled movement of the joint usually at high velocities towards the end of the range of movement. Typically in skiing the shoulder is dislocated when falling after loosing control during a ‘wipe-out’ or during turn using an uncoordinated plant of the ski pole.
Treatment Recommendations: Once the joint has been reduced and a decision has been made as to whether surgery is required, then following an appropriate period of immobilisation, function has to be gradually returned. Strengthening, mobility and proprioceptive exercises are progressed to return the shoulder to full function. The flexi-bar is an excellent way of stimulating the proprioceptors in the shoulder following this type of injury by providing rapid and variable stimulation in the form of vibration to the joint.
Braces:
Acute – Push Medial Shoulder Support
Rehab – Flexi-Bar Pro
Prevention - Acro Comfort Support
***FREE Vulkan Hot and Cold Pack worth £5.87 with every support!***
2. Wrist Injuries
Type: Fracture
Symptoms: Extreme pain in the wrist and an inability to move the joint. The pain is usually sharp and may refer into the hand or even up into the forearm. The typical diner fork deformity can be seen in many cases where the wrist may look slightly distorted just above the wrist.
Causes: Typically falling on to an outstretched hand and landing heavily. More likely if the snow is hard or skiing on ice.
Treatment Recommendations: A period of immobilisation is required after which a full wrist exercise programme is required to mobilise the joints and re-educate the associated muscles. The Vulkan SI Wrist Brace provides firm stability around the ulnar of the wrist to provide support to the carpal ligaments, nerves and bones. .
Braces:
Acute – Vulkan Wrist Brace
Rehab – Vulkan Wrist Strap
Prevention - Vulkan SI Wrist Brace
***FREE Vulkan Hot and Cold Pack worth £5.87 with every support!***
3. Ankle Injuries (1)
Type: Fracture
Symptoms: Severe pain in the ankle. Weight bearing is usually impossible, even in the fixed boot.
Causes: Despite the ankle being fixed in a boot, ankle fractures are not uncommon. The torque between the ski and the tibia is often very high and uncoordinated turns can easily fracture the ankle. Effusion almost always occurs.
Treatment Recommendations: After removal of the immobilisation, ankle exercises are critical to regain full ankle function. Massage will help mobilise scar tissue within the joint.
Braces:
Acute – Aircast Walker
Rehab – Airsport Ankle Support
Prevention – Push Aequi Support
***FREE Vulkan Hot and Cold Pack worth £5.87 with every support!***
4. Ankle Injuries (2)
Type: Sprains
Symptoms: Marked pain in the ankle. Could be either side of the joint, depending upon the load. Usually caused by a load in the frontal plane causing a valgus or varus load.
Causes: Ill-fitting boots can cause ankle pain generally, however this injury is more common in snowboarders as their boots are generally not as tightly fitted as skiers.
Treatment Recommendations: RICE. A compressive brace to help reduce the effusion is necessary while offering a high degree of stability.
Once the effusion and pain begins to subside then exercise can help re-educate the muscles in the ankle. Massage to the ligament can help with the correct healing and mobilising the scar tissue on the ligament.
Braces:
Acute – Aircast Walker
Rehab – Airsport Ankle Support
Prevention – Vulkan SI Ankle Support
***FREE Vulkan Hot and Cold Pack worth £5.87 with every support!***
5. Knee Injuries
Type: Meniscus
Symptoms: The meniscus assists with knee stabilisation and shock absorption. Typically damage to the meniscus is followed by locking and an effusion. Often weight bearing will be difficult and on occasion the knee will lock due to the physical distortion of the meniscus and the resultant muscle spasm. There are a number of occasions however when the meniscus can be traumatized over time and symptoms can be insidious. On these occasions, the patient often describes an aching in the knee as well as some discomfort on twisting and turning, even walking around corners can be uncomfortable. This more insidious onset can occur without effusion and depending upon which meniscus is damaged the symptoms can be in the popliteal fossa or on the joint line.
Causes: Commonly damaged in field sports during twisting and turning maneuvers, but skiers are prone to this too by virtue of the twisting loads at high velocity and the large lever they have on the end of their feet which exaggerates the torque through the knee.
Treatment Recommendations: The often quoted Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation (R.I.C.E) can be helpful. At this time a compressive knee brace offering some stability can be helpful to minimise the swelling and provide proprioceptive stimulation to help artificially stabilise the knee while it is vulnerable. Partial or non-weight bearing using crutches is often necessary in the short term.
In time exercises to help reduce the effusion are important by virtue of the ‘muscle pumping action’, but it is critical to note that too much exercise too soon will aggravate the effusion. Therefore a short range exercise that is less likely to load the knee yet still provide quadriceps work is helpful.
During the rehab a more secure brace is usually required so that although movement is encouraged, more stability is provided while the knee vulnerable yet starting to be active. When the patient moves into sport or higher levels of activity a brace that provides some stability but emphasizes proprioceptive stimulation to encourage correct muscle firing sequences is valuable.
Braces:
Acute – Push Med Knee Brace
Rehab – Vulkan Neoprene Hinged Knee
Prevention – Vulkan SI Knee Support
***FREE Vulkan Hot and Cold Pack worth £5.87 with every support!***
Follow these tips and you'll be enjoying a safe, injury-free ski season!
Yours sincerely,
The Peak Performance team