Skiing, here are the rules for doing it in health and safety even when you are no longer very young – WWN

Skiing down snow-capped mountains is a passion and a goal for many. But when you book a skiing week it’s good to think about how physically prepared you are for skiing or at
snowboarding
since yes These are disciplines in which traumas are not uncommon: in the case of skiing, for example, they are estimated at approx one accident every thousand days spent on the slopeswith the knees involved in at least one in four injuries followed by trauma a shoulders, wrists and head.

To those who love it snowboarding it seems to be even worse, given that according to a review by the US Brown University the probability of accidents is triple. Who chooses the table has more often trauma to upper limbsbecause it falls on the hands, while skiers risk their knees because, although the bindings have improved and come off easily, in the event of impacts twisting is very likely and the risk of injury, especially to the ligamentsit is concrete.

Excess enthusiasm

Traumatic spinal injuries are also common in skiing and snowboarding, which are second only to cycling for back injuries. One of the major reasons for the danger of winter sports is theexcess of enthusiasm because, as Brett Owens, the orthopedic surgeon who authored the US study, explains, «Some accidents are inevitable, but many happen because skiers and snowboarders they exaggerate their capabilities, for example by going down too fast or on slopes not suited to their technical ability. Instead, it is crucial to always be in control of your skis and snowboard, slowing down when necessary and above all ensuring good athletic preparation before arriving on the slopes.”

Athletic training

The days on the snow are often few, but this must not lead to exceeding the number of descents, getting too tired (it is no coincidence that accidents happen more often at the end of the day or on the last day of the skiing week), nor is it the case of arriving in the mountains with untrained muscles. «To reduce the probability of accidents it is necessary prepare in the previous weeks and monthsas well as always doing a good warm-up in the morning before the descents,” confirms Owens. This also serves to reduce the risk of back pain: as underlined by research from the University of Bochum, in Germany, skiing is one of the activities that most often causes low back painespecially because of the continuous vibrations to which the spine is subjected on descents but also because skiing puts a lot of stress on the abdominals and the muscles that support the back, stiffening them and inflaming them if they are not well trained.

For those who are no longer very young

Prudence is necessary especially if those who ski are no longer very young: today one in five skiers is over 55 years old and the number of over 65s has doubled compared to just 15 years ago, but over the years some more caution is needed as recently underlined by the Italian Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics which together with the Italian Alpine Club has created a decalogue for the elderly in mountains, also designed for those who don’t ski. «We must be careful, among elderly people who regularly go to the mountains, one in ten has an adverse event which could be a fall, an illness or an accident”, he underlines Franco Finelli of the CAI.

If someone who is no longer very young is also a skier, there are many age-related elements that can increase the dangers: the contrast vision worsens making it less easy to orient yourself on snowy slopes, lpoorer hearing can prevent you from hearing other skiers arriving in time, lmore precarious balance can promote falls, i slower reflexes they can decrease the speed with which one adapts to track conditions or unexpected events, making accidents easier. Not to mention that the majority of older skiers have learned downhill techniques that are no longer current with new generation skis, a factor that can lead them to tire more than necessary, increasing the risk of injury. A positive element? The greater fear of getting hurt, which automatically makes the elderly more cautious and can help you get on the slopes safely, perhaps choosing the less crowded ones.

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