Aren't You Glad to Ski Me?

Skiing injuries. If you're a frequent snow bunny then you'll know that you can make or break a season depending on the injuries you have to endure.

Which is why I thought it interesting when I read on the Sydney Morning Herald website recently that a number of sports medicine and skiing experts sat down together and picked apart videos of 20 World Cup skiiers to determine just what the recipe for the perfect ski injury is.

The outcome? It looks as though it's all about the knees, folks.

In fact, it's a turning, off-balance skier leaning backwards is a recipe for knee disaster.

Apparently if you have a skier trying to make a turn on the course, but leaning too far backwards and inwards into the turn while off-balance, it causes his outer ski to lift off the snow. When the skier tries to reach out with his leg to get the ski back on the ground, the very back of the ski hits the snow, pulling the leg with it and rotating the lower leg.

Still with me, guys?

The force on the knee caused by that rotation is too much for the ACL - one of four ligaments connecting the thighbone to the shinbone - to take. ACL tears can also happen when skiers were forced into a split, when their inner ski hooked on to a gate during a turn, and when they landed on the back of their skis after a jump.

Which got me to thinking - can you ever truly prepare your body for the onslaught of ski season? Obviously Power Plate training does help by building your resistance to an uneven surface as well as strengthening your leg muscles and creating flexible joints - but what are your suggestions for a safe ski session?