Knee Injuries from Skiing

Most skiers and snowboarders complain of 'dodgy knees' from time to time. Whether they click, hurt or ache when you're asked to 'bend ze knees', you don't have to put up with it.

Almost 40% of all ski injuries affect the knees. From a nagging joint to a full-on snap of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), the knees get a raw deal in the snow.

I've blamed more than a few bad days on the piste on my dodgy knees. I'm never really sure how they got dodgy, but put in enough ski or snowboard hours and it seems sadly inevitable for most of us.

Knees are more likely to be injured on the ski hill than any other part of the body. And, when you look at what they do, it is no surprise. Not only is a knee one of the body's main weight-bearing joints, but it is also a very complex one. It simultaneously rolls, slides and rotates, while carrying your body weight at the same time. Part of the culprit, for two-plankers at least, is beginners' snowplough, which places huge stress on the medial collateral ligament - strains account for 20-25% of injuries. But strains are small fry when you consider the injury every skier or boarder fears most. a dreaded tear of the ACL. This ligament inside the knee acts like an internal guy rope binding the thighbone to the shinbone, and a tear can put a question mark over any future trips to the slopes.

Up to 15% of all skier injuries are ACL tears and are almost always caused by a twisting fall. Often you'll hear a 'pop' when a cruciate ruptures, and the knee will give way, swelling within an hour. It usually happens when falling backwards with your weight over the tail of your skis. Risky manoeuvres are getting up while moving after a fall, trying to sit down after losing control and landing a jump leaning backwards.

Snowboarders escape more lightly because both feet are strapped to the board and twisting happens with the whole body, but risky times for riders are big air, fl at landings and riding the T-bar.

Being a woman also ups your risk. ACL injury rates are four to eight times higher in women, according to research published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine. Higher oestrogen levels soften the ACL, particularly during ovulation, making the fairer sex more vulnerable. Women are also more likely to land jumps with closer together, straighter knees than men, exerting more twisting force, according to researchers at the University of North Carolina.

SO WHAT CAN YOU DO TO PROTECT YOURSELF?

The simple answer is that your first French ski instructor was right - bend ze knees. Always keep your arms forward, feet together and hands over skis. Don't straighten your legs when you fall, and when you're down, stay down until you've stopped sliding. Don't jump unless you know how to land (keeping the knees flexed and landing equally on both skis).

Warming up properly may also help, according to a paper in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Why? It seems to improve the sense of where your knee is in space, according to the medics. This may increase the sensitivity of the protective muscle reflexes around the knee, which may reduce your chances of injuring a ligament.

Popping a few pills may also be worthwhile. For many people the production of glucosamine in the body declines with age, so that cartilage loses its ability to act as a protective shock absorber. Studies suggest that glucosamine supplements can boost cartilage health and build up protection. Chondroitin is another major cartilage builder and can relieve pain and swelling by rebuilding eroded joint tissue. But the effects take time, so the earlier you start, the greater the benefit.

So what if the worst happens, and you hear that sickening ACL 'pop'? Torn cruciates can't repair themselves, but the general trend is to forget surgery and treat it with splints and physiotherapy (with the aim of building up muscle and stabilising the joint). Otherwise, if your knee continues to give way, reconstruction is the way to go, especially if you want to ski at a decent level.


Custom Search