If you do get injured having the ski patrol examine your injury is usually a good place to start. Ski patrollers are very good at triaging injuries and making decisions whether you need to go to urgent care, see your physical therapist or physician, or apply self-cares. If you do not see your physician, use the R.I.C.E principle of treatment. R.I.C.E stands for: Rest from activity, Icing the injured area, applying Compression, and Elevating the injured area above the level of your heart. These methods will help combated swelling and prevent further injury to the area, and will allow most minor injuries to recovery as quickly as possible. If your injury is not improving after 1 week of treatment with the self-care measures listed above, you should go see your physician or physical therapist. Sometimes seeing a physical therapist can help get you back to snowboarding after an injury. A physical therapist will typically work with you to improve your balance, strength, and flexibility after an injury, and can also use various modalities to decrease pain and swelling. All of these measures can help you return back to sport faster and may help to prevent future injuries.
Author’s Bio:
Jason is a board-certified specialist in sports physical therapy at Excel Physical Therapy, who specializes in the rehabilitation and prevention of sports related injuries. He is particularly interested in biomechanics of sporting activities, especially running, cycling, skiing/snowboarding, and overhead athletes.
Jason is an avid snowboarder and has taught snowboarding at all levels for the past 16 years and has coached freestyle snowboarding for the past 6 years, most recently with a nationally recognized competitive snowboard program.
