Stretches for Skiers: How to Prevent Injuries

Stretching and mobility work are essential elements of any well-rounded health routine and wholesome way of life, however when your sport of selection makes use of virtually each muscle group and challenges your cardiovascular system, muscular endurance, energy, stability, and focus, a correct stretching apply is a necessity.

“Stretching is a vital a part of snowboarding for each novice and superior skiers,” says Levi Frasier, PT, DPT, a bodily therapist and clinic director of Peak Bodily Remedy. “Stretching routines might help forestall harm, enhance your efficiency on the hill, and assist scale back soreness after snowboarding,”

Totally different stretching strategies are higher fitted to earlier than or after your snowboarding session, he provides. “Motion-based stretching could be necessary earlier than snowboarding, and static maintain stretching could also be helpful after snowboarding.”

Motion-based stretching consists of dynamic stretches or mobility work that’s extra lively. It’s preferrred for pre-skiing warm-ups, rising blood stream, and getting ready your nervous system for work. Static stretching (holding the stretch) entails extra restorative stretching strategies and are finest saved for apres-ski (which is a French time period which means “after snowboarding”). These stretches can enhance restoration in addition to assist loosen up your thoughts, regulate your respiration, and encourage your nervous system to return to a relaxed.

Under, one can find a few of the finest stretches for skiers to do earlier than and after snowboarding. These stretches is not going to solely enable you put together for the slopes but additionally scale back the probability of harm.

Pre-Ski Stretches

Basically, stretching is an efficient method to enhance your flexibility, forestall accidents, help your posture, and enhance your vary of movement, says Jesse Stormer, BSc, MSc, a PSIA-certified alpine 1 and youngsters’s 1 ski teacher in addition to the proprietor of Stormer Efficiency.

“As a part of each snowboarding and on a regular basis life, we regularly develop compensatory motion patterns which can be nice for effectivity however may trigger ache and discomfort,” he says. “For many of us, staying harm and pain-free whereas snowboarding is the aim.”

When getting ready to ski, you will need to carry out dynamic motion stretches slowly. Then, progress with pace and depth so long as you don’t expertise any ache. Listed below are some stretches you are able to do previous to snowboarding.  

Hook-Mendacity Attain

The hook-lying attain is a good motion to launch stress in your decrease again earlier than stretching, particularly within the erector spinae muscle groups (that straighten and rotate the again) and supplies a fair better profit when you begin your stretch, says Stormer. This stretch is necessary as a result of many individuals carry numerous stress of their decrease again and expertise again ache consequently.

“Releasing this stress earlier than we hit the slopes will shield not solely our backs but additionally our knees and hips,” Stormer says.

While you carry stress in a single space of your physique, chances are you’ll expertise ache in one other area as a result of it has to “choose up the slack” (often known as referred ache), says Stormer. Do that reaching transfer to assist launch stress earlier than snowboarding.

1. Lay face up together with your palms up.
2. Bend your knees and place each ft on the ground, feeling strain via each ft equally into the bottom.
3. Carry your arms till they’re perpendicular to the bottom and hold them straight.
4. Hold your palms dealing with you and twist your arms with out bending your elbows. Your thumbs ought to rotate towards your ft, and your pinkies ought to rotate towards your face.
5. Breathe gently into your low again and really feel it push into the ground utilizing solely your breath.
6. Repeat for 5 breaths.

Seated Attain

Stormer says that the seated attain is a development from the hook-lying attain and helps additional loosen up the decrease and higher again. This is the way you do the seated attain.

1. Sit together with your again towards a wall.
2. Bend your knees about 90 levels towards your chest together with your ft flat on the ground and strain equally distributed all through the ft.
3. Attain via your arms and hold your palms dealing with the ceiling.
4. Bend ahead on the waist, transferring your chest towards your knees, and let your again spherical.
5. Hold your arms on the skin of your knees, reaching barely towards the ground together with your palms up.
6. Breathe gently into your decrease again and really feel it broaden.
7. Repeat for 5 breaths.

Half-Kneeling Quadriceps Stretch

You can also strive the half-kneeling stretch, which lets you launch stress within the entrance of the hips, notably the massive group of muscle groups known as the quadriceps, says Stormer. Right here is methods to do the the half-kneeling quadriceps stretch.

1. Get right into a half-kneeling place with one knee on the ground and one knee up.
2. Place a pillow or towel below the down knee if it’s extra comfy.
3. Push your hips ahead gently till you are feeling the stretch within the entrance of the leg that’s down.
4. Maintain for about 30 seconds
5. Change sides and repeat.

Frog Pose Groin Stretch

The frog pose groin stretch helps loosen the within of the legs and hips, says Stormer. “It helps loosen the adductors of the legs and scale back stress on the entrance aspect of the pelvis.” Right here is how it’s carried out.

1. Get in your arms and knees.
2. Sit again and produce your hips all the way down to your calves whereas preserving your knees bent.
3. Unfold your knees whereas preserving the within of your shins on the bottom. 

For a deeper stretch, sit additional again or unfold your knees aside additional.

Lunges

Lunges assist heat up the decrease physique muscle groups, in response to Fraiser. Additionally they assist loosen the joints and achieve vary of movement. Right here is methods to do a lunge.

1. Stand tall and keep an upright posture.
2. Step out with one leg.
3. Attain out to contact the heel first with an extended stride because the again knee searches for the ground.
4. Push off of the entrance heel to return to standing. 
5. Change legs and repeat for one to 2 minutes.

Frankensteins

Frankensteins are a dynamic motion from Fraiser that stretch the hamstrings. That is notably necessary as a result of they’re prone to be tight after numerous downhill snowboarding and might be required that can assist you climb slopes. Right here is how they’re carried out.

1. Stand tall.
2. Attain ahead to the touch the ground together with your again straight till a slight pull is felt behind the leg.
3. Prolong your reverse leg backward whereas your trunk leans ahead. 
4. Take a couple of steps and repeat with the alternative leg.
5. Repeat for one to 2 minutes.

Groin Stretch

The groin stretch is a stretching train with side-to-side motion for warming up the medial hip muscle groups, says Fraiser. Right here is how it’s carried out.

1. Stand tall together with your legs aside simply outdoors of shoulder width.
2. Shift your weight side-to-side slowly till a delicate pull is felt over your inside thigh.
3. Shift forwards and backwards slowly for one to 2 minutes.  

Pre-Ski Jumps

Fraiser explains that jumps enhance dynamic management whereas loading the decrease extremities—in step with snowboarding actions. Warming up with motions that mimic the work you will be doing is one of the simplest ways to organize your self and stop harm. This is methods to apply pre-ski jumps.

1. Stand tall with ft shoulder-width aside.
2. Crouch down together with your hips pushing behind you with bent knees.
3. Soar barely ahead and to the aspect touchdown together with your ft shoulder width aside and absorbing the motion via the legs. 
4. Soar barely ahead and to the fitting. 
5. Full left and proper jumps 10 occasions every.
6. Use sluggish and managed motion not permitting momentum to throw you off stability.

Publish-Ski Stretches

Stormer suggests together with the hook-lying attain and seated attain in your post-ski cool-down routine as effectively. “These two actions will assist launch the stress that’s been constructed up over a day of exhausting snowboarding.”

Afterward, strive incorporating extra stretches. Listed below are a couple of to strive.

Heel Elevated Toe Contact

The heel elevated toe contact is a mixture of two actions, says Stormer. “It’s a traditional hamstring stretch that mixes the actions from the hook-lying and seated reaches. It really works nice to launch the decrease again whereas additionally stretching and stress-free the hamstrings.”

The hamstrings are a big group of muscle groups on the again of the leg which can be important for snowboarding. They’ll simply develop into fatigued and tight, so caring for them is important, particularly if you happen to’re snowboarding a number of days in a row. Right here is methods to carry out the heel elevated toe contact.

1. Place a guide beneath your heels with the ball of your foot remaining on the bottom.
2. Attain towards your toes as you’ll with a regular toe contact.
3. Breathe into your decrease again, and as you exhale.
4. Squeeze your abs tight and attain deeper into the stretch.
5. Deal with feeling a stretch and don’t fret about preserving your legs straight.
6. Repeat for 10 breaths.

Standing Quadriceps Stretch

In response to Fraiser, quadricep muscle groups are a main muscle group utilized throughout snowboarding actions. Stretching the quads might help with post-activity soreness, frequent with snowboarding. Right here is methods to do a standing quadriceps stretch.

1. Stand tall.
2. Maintain onto one ankle with the knee bent.
3. Tuck your tail beneath to really feel a delicate stretch within the entrance thigh muscle. 
4. Maintain for 30 seconds.
5. Repeat thrice.
6. Change to the opposite aspect and repeat.

Standing Hamstring Stretch

Hamstring stretching will assist forestall harm, together with hamstring pulls, says Frasier.  One stretch that may assist forestall harm is the standing hamstring stretch. Right here is how it’s carried out. 

1. Stand tall.
2. Place one foot in entrance of the opposite in a staggered stance place.
3. Tip on the hip together with your again straight to really feel a delicate stretch over the again of the thigh. 
4. Maintain for 30 seconds.
5. Full this stretch thrice.
6. Repeat this stretch on the opposite aspect. 

Standing Calf Stretch

Your calves work exhausting throughout snowboarding and might develop into tight and sore. Listed below are two variations of a standing calf stretch from Fraiser.

1. Stand tall, in a staggered stance.
2. Shift your weight ahead to your entrance foot together with your again leg straight till you are feeling a delicate stretch behind the decrease leg. 
3. Maintain for 30 seconds, thrice.
4. Change legs.

One other model entails dropping the again leg with the knee bent into a delicate stretch over the posterior leg. Maintain 30 seconds per stretch for thrice. Change legs.