Preventing Injuries for Winter Sports

In the winter, it’s far easier to stay home and relax, staying out of the cold. But it’s also the most common trap people fall into that leads to gaining weight, especially so through the holiday season. Engaging in winter sport is a great way to burn those extra calories while still having some fun.

How Can I Prepare?

You can prepare yourself by warming up your muscles and joints that you will be engaging in. In the winter, the cold can make these muscles, tendons, and ligaments prone to injury due to stiffness and being unprepared.

For example, most of winter sports engage in your ankles and knees. It’s good to do some calf raises, toe raises, and some balance exercise. These are great but simple exercises you can do to strengthen those muscles and get used to moving in all sorts of directions.They will engage your lower extremities and get you toned up to prevent ankle injuries during sports like ice-skating, skiing, and snow boarding.

Don’t forget to train your core muscles as they are important as well. Strong and flexible core will help you during strenuous movements as well as prevent back injuries. You can perform crunches, planks, as well as elbow-to-knee crunches to help with the twisting movements. Your core muscles can be your life-saver when you need to make twists and turns at the last moment to prevent sudden collisions with another person or an obstacle.

Let’s not leave behind correct form and posture for the sports that you are engaging in. They are there as your foundations to prevent injuries. If you have never engaged in these sports or it’s been a long time, perhaps it’s best to get a lesson or a refresher with another person to reassure you got it all down and haven’t forgotten the important ones.
One such important rule can be as simple as having the ski strap below your wrist. One of the most common injuries by skiers, which is called skier’s thumb (ulnar collateral ligament tear) or UCL tear for short, happens when the skip strap is above the wrist.

It is also important to get those muscles warmed up right before engaging in these activities. Performing active stretching by doing light workouts will get them ready for your sports. These ones will be helpful: calf raises and squats, swinging your legs out and across, marching with twists, and standing crossover toe touches. You can perform 10 – 20 reps of these calisthenic exercises 1 – 2 sets.

There are plenty of other sports that you can do during the winter indoors. Just remember, preparation is key and will always help. Proper warm ups, stretches, and good form can prevent many injuries. So get active this winter and be ready to get your summer body on.