What if there was a way to gain insight into your personal injury risk BEFORE your season began? An injury prevention screening is a safe way to test your body before hitting the slopes. The information gained from a screening can help inform about potential injury risks and may guide your preseason exercise training to address any unrealized deficits. A good screen should test your limits with a variety of movements that mimic dynamic conditions needed for success in the mountains. Components of any comprehensive screen may include balance, impact loading, power, and strength.
She-Shredz partnered with Ascent Tahoe to determine what three ski girls (Constance Traynor, Shawnee Wood, and Kerry Nolan) need to improve before those chairs get spinning. Physical Therapists, Kerry and Shawnee, created an extensive screening tool using evidence-informed research linked to common skiing injuries from ACL reconstruction to yard-sales. The tool they created measures leg strength, single-leg and double-leg balance, dynamic balance, and multidirectional impact force.
Tests each measure a specific marker for ski-related injuries and are as follows:
Le Tindeq Test: Targeted muscle testing for quadriceps and hamstring. Measures resistance to determine muscle force when attached to a Tindeq Progressor.
Broad Jumps: An explosive test that measures leg power (double-legged and single-leg tested on both sides).
Vertical Jumps: Discover your lower body’s ability to do a large amount of work over a short period of time (think Moguls).
Drop Test: A method used to measure an athlete’s reactive strength and lower body power (think cliff-huck readiness).
Above Shawnee testing her quads with the Le Tindeq Test, Kerry tracking her numbers.
Was it hard? Yup, almost embarrassingly so. What I thought would be a quick exercise or two turned into a full workout lasting about an hour. I would be lying if I didn’t tell you how my hamstrings were pretty sore the day after! Some of the test results were made available in real time but one of the perks when working with Kerry and Shawnee comes days after they process your numbers. The graphical display clearly shows how close you are to 100% on each side and whether or not you are symmetrical in strength, power, impact loading, and balance.
After a screening, Ascent Tahoe sends each athlete a comprehensive overview that provides a detailed explanation for each test and their result. When used properly, the information gained from an injury prevention screening should guide your exercise training to help tackle any deficiencies.
I found the pre-season screening to be an interesting indicator of how my current training was stacking up. To my surprise, I discovered that I am rather symmetrical in my quads and hamstrings and have pretty good strength and power. Discovering new strengths like my jumping distance (from broad jump pictured above) was a nice and unexpected twist that gives me the confidence my body is ready to take impact after that next big huck.
Going forward, I feel more confident heading into ski season knowing I’m on the right path for training and doing my best to take care of my joints. Having bigger goals this upcoming season only puts injury prevention at the forefront of my mind. The most valuable injury prevention tool I now have is the knowledge that I need to spend a little more time strengthening my quads! Typically, after a screening, it is ideal to have a session or two with whoever conducts your test to customize your approach to address any noted deficits. Creating your personalized ski training regimen with qualified professionals (no, workout influencers on social media do not count) is a responsible way for athletes to receive comprehensive plan that will reduce your injury risk and help you heal quicker if you find yourself sidelined at any point during the season.
We get it, people are hesitant to get a screening with mantras like, "I'd rather not know..." or “I’m not getting injured this year…knock on wood.” I’ve spoken with some of our community and heard things like I just don't feel like I’m ready for a screening, what if I “FAIL?” Rest assured, you can’t fail an injury prevention screening. The information from the screening is only one piece of the puzzle when it comes to understanding your body and what your personal risk is for injury during any given season. For those of you who are already multi-season athletes, why waste weeks training muscles that are already ski-ready? If you have any weak spots, wouldn’t you want to know? Why not start targeting your weak spots to become a better, well-rounded athlete?
For more information on things like preseason group exercise classes check out Ascent Tahoe's ski program on Monday and Wednesday mornings at the CR Johnson Healing Center located in Truckee. If you prefer to get into ski shape on your own, check back soon for Ascent Tahoe's pre-season workout on She-Shredz here.
Ready to book your pre-season ski screening? Click here to learn more about Ascent Tahoe.
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