With the winter months upon us, cold weather sports such as skiing, skating, and snowboarding are back in full swing. One of the most important aspects of any sport is making time to keep yourself free of injury and in top performance. Most of the time, this comes down to proper warm ups and conditioning. However these can be easy to overlook when the weather turns colder! Since we’re all about keeping you at the top of your game, we’ve put together some information on why warming up your muscles is important and providing some additional techniques that will help prevent serious injuries!
With most people skipping the warm ups on the slopes, it’s far too common to see avoidable skiing injuries this time of year. Warming up your muscles before skiing or snowboarding is very important due to the colder weather. Since the weather will be colder, your muscles will be stiffer, so taking a little extra time to keep everything limber is a major necessity to prevent pulling a muscle and to protect your joints.
Due to the popularity of skiing and snowboarding, we see more knee injuries this time of year than anything else. If you do nothing else this winter season, pay special attention to your knees. You’ll thank yourself years from now when you avoid costly rehabilitation and continue enjoying the sport you love! It is also important to practice these sports in the proper manner. Always make sure your form is spot on to reduce the risk of injury.
When practicing or warming up, always make sure your form is spot on. If it isn’t, you will put yourself in a situation where you are at risk of injury. When skiing a few things that can cause injury include tilting your foot and knee inward when landing or trying to slow down. This can be very stressful on your knee and can cause a serious injury in some cases. Instead, try pulling your skis together when you squat while skiing to prevent any injury while going down the slopes or falling.
All skiers and snowboarders know there are inevitable truths to their sports: falling and cold weather. If you fall while skiing or snowboarding do not try to fight it. Always try to land on your side or butt to prevent any serious injuries. When it comes to the colder weather, always wear several layers. Wearing more than enough layers will allow you to discard each one, as you need to. Also, due to the colder weather, it is always important to pace yourself when you’re performing any activity. Since it is cold during these sports, people tend to pay less attention to how hard they are actually working and it becomes that much easier to overheat or dehydrate yourself.
When you’re going out to ski, snowboard, or skate this winter always keep these helpful tips in mind. One final piece of advice is to always to always use the buddy system! Always ride the slopes with a friend. A small injury could turn into something much worse if you’re alone out there!
For more information, feel free to contact our office at any time.
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