Ski Injuries & Recovery
Specifically treating skiing injuries on a day-to-day basis for months at a time, has given Holly the opportunity to thoroughly study the most common injuries and also the best form of practice for a speedy recovery.
The most common skiing injuries Holly treats: Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) rupture – usually occurs when the knee is twisted beyond its normal range of motion. Normally you’ll hear or feel a pop in the knee and the joint will then give way, giving sufferers the impression that they have dislocated their knee. In most cases, this will be a sudden sharp pain initially, however, it’s the instability of the affected leg that proves debilitating for sufferers. The knee will swell significantly.
Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) injuries – another knee injury. The MCL is damaged when force is applied to the side of the knee while it’s bent. They tend to occur when a skier is racing down a mountain and they fall over without changing their body position. It can also be injured when falling over and your knee falls inwards. You will experience pain on the inside of the joint, followed by swelling and bruising.
Shoulder injuries – often dislocations, occur when a skier falls directly onto the shoulder joint, or onto an outstretched hand and the force of the fall is transmitted up the arm to the shoulder. Sufferers will quickly need to have the shoulder replaced back into its joint and then kept in a sling for a number of weeks. During this period, physiotherapy treatment is needed to strengthen the muscles again. Rotator cuff injuries occur similarly to most dislocated shoulder injuries, however, the likely symptoms will be restricted motion, clicking and catching and weakness. Again, this is often and easily treated by a Physiotherapist.
Holly ads… “It’s not unusual for most people to pick up injuries here and there while skiing, but an issue I come across quite often are the sufferers that tend to self-diagnose themselves. As most skiers are typically holiday-goers, it’s not unusual for them to pick up an injury and self-diagnose themselves. Quite often I will be treating someone that has injured their self and tried to carry on as normal, only to have taken another fall and caused even more damage in the long run.
Moral of the story – NEVER self diagnose. Always prepare and train sensibly beforehand, put your health first and learn to trust in the experts. Whether you feel you have a bodily imbalance that could lead to a possible injury on the slopes, or you just want some strengthening advice beforehand, we’d love to hear from you! We want to make sure you head out to the slopes in the best shape and return in good health.
Send us a message using our FREE online Ask-A-Physio service on our website: www.physiofusion.co.uk Alternatively, call us 01524 874 649 to book or arrange any appointment with our Physiotherapists.
