There’s a buzz in Whistler that happens at this time every year… the mountain is open and there’s finally snow on the ground in the village! Excitement is in the air and whether you’ve been up the hill or not, it’s nice to welcome ski season back to our little mountain town. So the next thing on everyone’s mind as a skiier or snowboarder is how do I extend my ski season? Or in other words, how can I avoid getting injury and stay healthy this year. We have some great tips from local registered massage therapist (RMT) Stacey Taylor on how to keep yourself healthy over the coming months.
1.) What do you recommend for skiiers and snowboarders to do specifically after a day on the mountain?
Stretch and Hydrate. Stretching out your muscles will help prevent future injury and staying hydrating allows for a quicker recovery so that you can get back at it the next day with less of an impact from DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness).
2.) What injuries do you see the most from skiiers and snowboarders and what would be the best prevention?
With skiiers, I tend to see a lot of ACL tears. It’s important to maintain strong and balanced quads, hamstrings and gluts when skiing. If a fall happens when a ski is slightly twisted causing torque your knee, ACL tears can occur. Staying strong and most importantly balanced between those syngerist muscles will help to prevent unwanted twisting of the knee.
As for Snowboarders, I often see broken wrists with the elbow and shoulder also taking a beating. Too often when a snowboarder falls do they stick an arm out to brace the fall. I highly recommend wrist guards to help prevent any breakage. Keeping the shoulder rotator cuff muscles strong and again balanced will help prevent any unwanted dislocations.
I find the best way to maintain strength and balance of strenghth in muscles would be attending a Vinyasa yoga flow. Yoga is great for working both antagonist and agonist muscles creating a working synergy.
3.) Do you have any self-care practices that yogis can add to their routine?
I’m a big fan of the traditional Epsom salt bath after a great day on the mountain. For an extra muscle relaxing benefit, I add a few drops of Eucalyptus essential oils to the bath as it’s great against muscle cramps as well as clearing your lungs from that frosty air.
4.) I understand you use essential oils, do you have any you’d recommend over the holiday season?
I perfer to use the Doterra brand as they are all 100% Organic and sourced ethnically. Their Holiday blend of wild orange, Cinnamon, Nutmeg and clove with some Douglas Fir really give a feeling of the holidays. But if you’re feeling more of the stress and anxiety of the holidays, then I suggest using Lavender and Wild orange. Lavender is very calming and the wild orange will have that uplifting boost only citrus can do.
