Nearly all injuries in alpine skiing are classified as traumatic, or due to a fall. As mentioned earlier, under Strength & Injury Prevention, the majority of knee injuries in alpine skiing occur on the left knee. Therefore it is important to work on your ski technique to be able to turn equally well to your right and left. With the snowpack being shallower and conditions not yet epic, the early season is a great time to work on perfecting your turns. Aim to stay balanced on your skis with your hips centered and perfect your turns to both sides. A Professional Ski Instructor or coach can make all the difference, so take the time to perfect your technique by taking a lesson at one or our local ski resorts, or sign-up for coaching from a community ski team such as the Bridger Ski Foundation (BSF).
At Excel Physical Therapy, Winter is often our busiest time of year; and with good reason, many of us choose to live here for our Winter pursuits of skiing and snowboarding. Unfortunately these sports have a high injury rate and can lead to serous injuries resulting in the need for surgery and extensive rehabilitation. While one cannot completely prevent injuries in skiing and snowboarding, your risk can be reduced by following injury prevention guidelines. This series of blogs will focus on injuries and their prevention for alpine skiing, snowboarding, and Nordic skiing.
See more Winter Injury Prevention: Alpine Skiing, Nordic Skiing & Snowboarding – Part 1
See more Strength and Injury Prevention in Alpine Skiing – Part 2
See more Equipment and Prevention of Alpine Ski Injuries – Part 3
Jason Lunden, DPT, SCS specializes in the rehabilitation and prevention of sports-related injuries, with a particular interest in the biomechanics of sporting activities – running, cycling, skiing, snowboarding and overhead athletics. He has published on the topic of shoulder biomechanics and the rehabilitation of knee injuries and has a strong commitment to educating others. Jason serves as a physical therapist for the US Snowboarding and US Freeskiing teams and is a frequent, well-received local and national presenter on the topics of sports rehabilitation and injury prevention.
