Prime Time Ski Club news for Bethel Citizen 2/27/14 This past week did not see too many Prime Time members on the slopes of Sunday River as it was vacation time for quite a few schools and the usually quiet mid-week slopes were replaced with lots of skiers and boarders. However, those members who did ski with family members and friends found great conditions and a full trail count thanks to yet another snow storm and the mountain’s expert groomers.
With more people on the mountain, however, there seemed to be more incidents requiring ski patrol. Prime Time members have skied relatively safely this year with only one early-season mishap and a couple of other injuries so far this year. Since the 1970s, alpine ski injuries that require medical attention have dropped from approximately 5 to 8 per 1000 skier-days to about 2 to 3 per 1000 skier-days. That’s a risk of only 0.2 – 0.4 percent. The nature of the injuries has also been transformed over the same time period. Lower leg injuries are becoming less common while the incidence of knee injuries is becoming more common. Much of this change can be attributed to advancements in binding technology, which effectively reduces lower leg injury, but does not adequately address the issue of knee injuries. In a situation where your ski is torqued but does not release, the joint that sustains the most force is the knee.
Knee injuries can range from simple meniscus tears to minor sprains of the medial collateral ligament (MCL) to more severe injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Along with binding design, binding adjustment and maintenance are important preventative factors. Make sure you have your equipment checked every season by a qualified ski shop. Many shops offer a complimentary binding check with a ski tune so take advantage of this offer. Some specific suggestions to prevent knee injuries include: (1) Keep your knees flexed and don’t try to straighten them during a fall since a straight leg provides a longer lever force against the knee. (2) When you’re down, stay down: don’t try to stop the fall. You can’t predict which way your leg is going to twist. (3) Fall forward. Don’t land on your hands backwards. Keep your arms up and forward. Falling backwards places abnormal forces across the ACL.
Shoulder injuries often occur when a skier falls with an outstretched arm, usually after planting the pole. This injury can be avoided by letting go of the pole during a fall and by trying to keep the arms close to the body while falling. One of the most common ski injuries is injury to the collateral ligaments of the thumb, usually caused by the pole straining the thumb during a fall. This risk can be reduced by placing your hand through the pole strap from the bottom up so that you are grabbing the strap and the pole at the same time. This way, when you fall, your hand has a better chance of disengaging the pole.
Ski injuries tend to happen when muscles are fatigued and less responsive. So do not ski when you are tired. Most important of all is to ski in control. Collision is a common cause of injury. You are skiing too fast if you cannot avoid obstacles in your path.
What better way to ski safely than with other people. Prime Time Ski Club members invite you to join them weekdays at North Peak Lodge at 10 a.m. (upper level, right-hand side). After a brief time for announcements, members (who are 50 years or older) usually break into small groups of from four to eight skiers, based primarily on skiing ability and terrain preference. Check out our website at www.primetimeskiclub.com or just show up at North Peak Lodge and ski a few runs with us and make some new friends.
