Pay Attention To Body Tuning Before You Hit The Slopes Or Trails

Preventing Ski Injuries – With Dr. Peter Schamus, MD

Many of us pay more attention to our equipment than the most important equipment of all—us! Many ski injuries and overuse syndromes can be avoided by simple preventative maintenance. While sharpening your edges and maintaining bindings are smart, even more important is a musculoskeletal tune up on yourself for preventing ski injuries. This is even more crucial as we age and the musculoskeletal system inevitably displays the wear and tear of the years.

We lose muscle mass annually as we age over 40, but this can be reversed with the correct exercise regimen. Joints inevitably become stiffened both from cartilage thinning as well as tightening of the soft tissues surrounding the joints and spine. These conditions, while not completely reversible, can be managed with exercise programs stressing both flexibility and strengthening.

While stabilization and core are buzzwords frequently used in the fitness field, for snow sports those words cannot be repeated too often. Fitness trainers, therapists, and physicians refer to muscle groups that are core stabilizers. These include the rectus abdominis, external and internal obliques, back extensors, and the pelvic floor muscles.

Read more from the original article at SeniorSkiing.com.