Are you snow-ready?

A guide to your skiing prehabilitation

Yes, it is that time of year again. Its time to dust off those thermals, get out that wacky woolly hat and the oversized goggles because, if you are anything like me, the onset of uncomfortably cold weather is a time for celebration. It's ski season!

However, the post-Christmas period is never the time of peak physical fitness for any of us and, as skiing is usually a recreational sport we only participate in once a year, it is generally something most people are physically unprepared for. The statistics for snow related injuries are actually fairly encouraging with it being reported that only 2-4 persons in every 1000 require medical assistance per day, but there is no denying the fact that accidents happen, and when they do on the snow, they can be serious with long-term effects on joints, ligaments and bones. Therefore the better your fundamental physical shape the more you will get out of your winter sport.

MCL (knee ligament) sprain is the most common knee injury in skiers. This usually affects beginners who twist a knee at slow speeds. It can also occur by 'catching an edge' at speed. The ACL sprain is also common, when the skier falls backwards and the leg extends in front.

Whether you ski, snowboard, or cross country ski, if time is invested prior to your holiday, the better you will perform and the less vulnerable you will be to injury. Skiing and snow boarding require endurance, strength, flexibility and balance so it's important not to concentrate solely on leg strength.

Here is a guide to some simple pre-slope conditioning exercises:

1. Supported Wall Squats: Stand with your back against a wall, with your head and back in natural alignment, squat down walking your feet forwards to bring them directly under your knees as though you are sitting in a chair. Hold this position for 5 seconds then slide back up the wall. Repeat 10-30 times.
2. Plank: Lying face down on the floor, bring yourself up from the floor to rest on your elbows, trying to keep the rest of your body completely straight. Hold this position for 1 minute, and gradually build up the time and number of repetitions.
3. Lunges: Stand with your hands on your hips, step your right foot forwards and slowly bring the left knee as close to the ground as you can, then come back into standing, complete 10 times, then swap to step forwards with the left leg.
4. Use the stairs: This is a perfect way to strengthen your hamstrings and quadriceps as well as increase your general fitness so use the stairs wherever possible.
5. Box jump: Find a sturdy box or step, stand astride it and jump up onto the box and then down 10 times (please make sure whatever you are jumping onto can take your weight!)
6. Core standing twist: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, hold a ball out in front of you and rotate the ball round to your left, then round to the right 10 times each way.
7. Cycling: this can be on a static bike or a pedal bike if you have access to either but is an excellent way to strengthen your legs and increase your cardiovascular fitness. Increase the time and distance as you are able, aiming to do 20 minutes three times per week.

These exercises are all simple, can be done any where at any time and require no specialist gym equipment. A little time invested in the correct preparation means more time for that first glass of mulled wine off the slopes and less time in the local medical centre!

Emily Spiro, Physiotherapist, the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth