Before heading out for the cold country, you should make sure you get in shape. For skiers and snowboarders alike, strong legs and a strong core make conquering those challenging slopes much easier. The muscles primarily used include the quadriceps (front of thighs), the hamstrings (back of thighs), gluteal musculature, hip abductors(outer thighs), and calf musculature. So make sure you make your way into the weight room and hit the leg press, hamstring curl, hip machine, and calf press. Strengthening your core and upper body will help put you a step above the others.

To ensure injury prevention for all activities, stretching should become a part of your regular routine. Stretching prior to heading out to the slopes helps to prevent injury, and stretching after a hard day on the mountain will curb post-activity soreness, leaving you in good shape to hit the slopes the next morning. For best results, stretch each muscle group at least 3 times holding the stretch statically without bouncing for 30 seconds. Target the major muscle groups of the legs and low back including the quadriceps, hamstrings, calf, gluteal and low back musculature. If you found yourself pulling on those dreaded cat-walks, stretch out your triceps and chest musculature as well.

Keep in mind that most ski injuries occur during the first or last run of the day. Stretching prior to hitting the slopes combined with performing one to two warm-up runs can help prevent those “first run injuries”. To prevent an injury at the end of the day, keep in mind your limitations based on your fatigue level. If you are fatigued, the end of the day is probably not the best time to take that triple black diamond run.

Camelback Mountain Sports Medicine’s most commonly seen ski and snowboard injuries include the following:

• Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear of the knee
• Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) tear of the knee
• Meniscus tear of the knee
• Wrist sprains/strains
• Wrist fractures
• Shoulder subluxation/dislocation

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