Start This Ski Season Pain Free
Happy October! As we all enjoy the leaves and the golden days of fall, it’s hard to ignore that snow season is right around the corner. Here at Summit PT, we are fans of several winter sports, including backcountry touring, Nordic skiing, snowboarding, and good old alpine skiing.
Winter sports can be a hard transition. The forces of impact on your body are jarring, and knee pain is common. You want to be able to effortlessly fly down a mogul run. Or perhaps carving a beautiful arc on a fresh groomed trail is what brings you joy. Yet you hold back on fully giving yourself to the mountain because you’re afraid of injury or pain.
Knee pain can ruin an awesome day at the mountain. Knee pain will make you ski defensively at best, and at worst, keep you from skiing altogether.
Thankfully, there is a way of fixing, or even preventing ski season knee pain altogether.
Ways to Prevent Pain
One way to prevent pain is to start strengthening the muscles in the hip and leg before your snow season ever starts. Preventative medicine is really where it’s at.
Another way to to prevent pain is to continue doing strengthening and mobility exercises even after the season starts. Going from sitting to barreling down a double black is hard on our bodies, and you need to keep maintaining your mobility.
Exercises for Ski Season Knee Health
Strengthening your knee joint is actually strengthening all the muscles around the knee and hip. The knee needs strong hip and thigh muscles in order to do its job. If you strengthen the right muscles, your knees will be able to work with less stress.
Here are three of our favorite exercises for ski season knee health
Try doing each exercise 6-10 times, and then repeat each round of all three 3-5 times. Make sure you warm up first with some movement such as fast walking, jogging in place, even jumping jacks.
Lateral Box Jumps
A great exercise that mimics some of the side to side motion of skiing. Try to limit the contact time on the ground/box, i.e. think quick movements.
Romanian Deadlifts
This exercise really targets the glutes and develops core stability as well. Initiate the move by sticking your butt back and hinging at your hips like you're shutting a car door. Your shins should stay vertical and your arms should move straight up and down. Keep your back flat throughout and focus on hinging your hips forward with your glutes (squeeze your butt) to bring yourself back up.
Bulgarian Split Squats
These split squats strengthen the whole upper leg, and particularly develop individual knee stability. Focus on pushing through the heel of your front foot and squeezing your glutes to press yourself up.
Start Now to Ski with Strong Knees
If you begin prepping for ski season now, you can start skiing as soon snow flies this season. Try these exercises as stand alone strengthening, or work them into your regular fitness routine.
Remember to keep using these exercises once the season starts to keep the knees happy.
If you experience pain or have any questions about Physical Therapy, make sure to contact us. Some knee issues require a little extra TLC, and that’s where PT comes in!
See you on the slopes.
