PREVENTING AND TREATING INJURY IN COLORADO SKI COUNTRY

Owing to abundant snowfall, relatively moderate wintertime temperatures, and expansive mountain ranges, Colorado ranks among the top recreational ski destinations in the world. Colorado’s rich ski history includes figures such as Father Dyers, crossing Mosquito Pass on his skis to visit mining camps, and locations like Camp Hale, the training camp for the 10th Mountain Division during World War II.

Today Colorado is home to almost 50 ski areas that log over 12,000,000 annual ski visits. With all of that activity on our slopes, accidents are inevitable. While skiing is not a contact sport, it involves coordination, high velocity, and muscle endurance to prevent injury and strain.

TIPS TO AVOID INJURY ON THE SLOPES

• Warm Up: Begin your day with a warm-up routine that includes stretches. Some beneficial stretches include
• Hips & Back: Lie on your back, bend your knees and let them fall to one side. Keep your arms out to the side and let your back and hips rotate with your knees.
• Quads & Hamstrings: Kneel onto one knee and place your opposite foot on the floor in front of you. In this lunge position, push your hips forward. Hold onto something for balance, if necessary.
• Standing Toe-up Achilles Stretch: Stand up and place the ball of your foot onto a step, raised object, or against a wall. Bend your knee and lean forward.
• Perfect your technique: Take a ski class from a professional before hitting the slopes.
• Prepare your gear: Make sure you have the right ski boots, bindings, and ski length for your body type and level of skill. Wear appropriate safety gear, such as helmets and wrist guards.
• Prepare your body: A good conditioning routine, including strength training, cardio, flexibility, and balance exercises, can help increase your strength and endurance on the slopes.
• Stay on the Trail: Especially while you’re learning, stay on terrain you’re comfortable with. Steeper terrain means higher speeds and greater potential for injury, and leaving park bounds means new conditions and more danger.
• If you are tired, rest:  Mistakes (and injuries) are far more common when we’re fatigued.

MOST COMMON SKI AND SNOWBOARD INJURIES

Knee Injuries

A third of all injuries in skiing are suffered by the knee joint, most commonly menisci, cruciate, and collateral injuries.

Meniscal injuries occur during a fall when the ski bindings fail to release. When this occurs, the skier twists the lower leg and risks a meniscus tear or strain. Common signs of this condition are pain, swelling, inability to bend the knee, clicking and “giving way” of the knee.

A torn anterior cruciate ligament (torn ACL) can occur when a skier falls and twists the downhill leg, or during an off-balance landing after a jump. The most common indication of a torn ACL is an audible “pop” followed by extreme pain, swelling, and stiffness.

Less common, but more severe, is “O’Donoghue’s triad,” or simultaneous complete (or partial) tear of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), medial collateral ligament (MCL), and the medial meniscus.

Treating Knee Injuries from Ski & Snowboard Accidents

Knee injuries are initially treated with the RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) principle, which will help minimize the pain and reduce the swelling.

With most knee injuries, the goal is to stabilize the injury with knee supports (or braces) and begin a program of exercise, therapy, and rehabilitation to facilitate natural healing and conditioning.

If the pain of the injury is too severe to resume even normal activities with the help of a brace, your doctor may recommend a pain management program. In these cases, treatments such as injection and prescription medications can help ease the pain of the injury and allow your body to resume its healing process.

Spine Injuries

Spinal injuries from ski accidents are far less common than knee injuries – that’s the good news. The bad news is that they are usually far more serious and require much more time off the slopes for recovery. The most common spinal ski injuries come from stress or torsion on the spine during a hard fall or a collision.

When minor injuries happen, they usually include pain and numbness. After the adrenaline has faded, these injuries will result in restricted movement and aches and pains. People who have suffered from this type of injury may be prone to more frequent back pain in the future, so it’s important to be examined by a physician no matter how minor your injury seems.

Major spine injuries from ski accidents are another story. Symptoms of these injuries can include loss of movement, difficulty breathing, loss of control of bodily functions, and muscle spasms. These symptoms, obviously, should not be ignored! Major spinal injuries can lead to partial or total paralysis, so get to an emergency room as quickly as possible.

Treating Spine Injuries from Ski & Snowboard Accidents

Just like with knee injuries, the goal behind treating a spine injury is to manage pain and resume normal activities as much as possible. Nursing the injury with inactivity and immobility only delays the healing process. Physical therapy, exercise, and movement are necessary for recovery from spine injuries, as well as strengthening your body to prevent further pain and re-injury.

SEEKING TREATMENT & STAYING ON THE SLOPES

Regardless of how minor your accident may have seemed, pain from the injury can take days or even weeks to be fully felt. If you have even a passing concern that you may have injured your back, knees, shoulders, or tailbone while skiing or snowboarding, the safe bet is to consult a physician who can help keep you on the slopes where you belong.

The McKenzie Method for Lower Back Pain Control

There is no simple cure for back pain. The spine itself is such a complex part of our anatomy that there’s rarely one fix for the wide range of aches and pains that bring patients to our clinic.

Treatments that offer therapeutic pain relief are only part of the picture of a pain-free life. After relief from the pain of injury or accident has subsided, there are additional steps to restore and maintain a healthy spine. In addition to the treatments we offer for acute and chronic back and neck pain, we offer our patients advice and instruction on using the McKenzie Method for controlling back pain and developing long-term spine health.

THE MCKENZIE METHOD 

 In the 1960’s a New Zealand Physical Therapist named Robin McKenzie noted that extending the spine could provide significant pain relief to certain patients. He developed a series of maneuvers and exercises to help patients take a more active role in their continued health.

The long-term goal of the McKenzie Method is to teach patients suffering from neck pain and/or back pain how to treat themselves and manage pain throughout their lives using exercise and other strategies. Other goals include:

1. Reduce pain quickly 
2. Return to normal functioning in daily activities 
3. Minimize the risk of recurring pain (avoid painful postures and movements) 
4. Minimize the number of return visits to the spine specialist 

 McKenzie’s exercises for back pain are a series of progressive positions. If your back pain is especially acute, you may not be able to work through all stages straight away. In this case work through as many stages as you can and only progress further as your pain subsides.

The stages of McKenzie’s exercises are prone lying, prone lying while resting on elbows, prone push-ups, progressive extension using pillows and standing extension. Numerous variations of the McKenzie sequence exist which add or remove stages according to interpretation of the original sequence.

SOME MCKENZIE EXERCISES

The following diagrams provide examples of some basic McKenzie exercises that can be done to help allay and prevent pain symptoms. This general information is not intended to diagnose any medical condition or to replace your healthcare professional. Always consult with your healthcare professional prior to designing an appropriate exercise routine.

Exercise 1 – Lying Face Down

Exercise 2 – Lying Face Down in Extension

Exercise 3 – Extension in Lying

Exercise 4 – Extension in Standing

Exercise 5 – Flexion in Lying

Exercise 6 – Flexion in Sitting

Exercise 7 – Flexion in Standing

McKenzie’s exercises are designed to reposition any displaced intervertebral discs. This is initially done by using gravity to draw the discs back into the spine and then actively to consolidate the effect of gravity. To facilitate disc movement, you must relax as much as possible when performing the exercises and maintain relaxed and even breathing for the duration of the exercise.

The entire range of diagnostic and therapeutic routines offered by the McKenzie Method can be taught and facilitated by the specialists and resources available in our clinic. If you’d like to learn more about how these stretches and exercises can help you maintain a pain-free life, come inand see us!