Top 5 Knee Injury Prevention Tips for Snowmobiling: Don’t Blow It
The early season is upon us. The seasonal rains have finally turned to snow, the last of the leaves have made their way to the earth and the winter culture has awakened. The population of Revelstoke has doubled overnight and my feed is plugged with everyone getting after the blower alpine conditions. It annoys me—because here I sit at home thinking about knee injury prevention as I nurse my second knee injury of the season. What an idiot.
Frustrated as I am, I will not succumb to the old adage that, “With age comes injury.” Or my lovely family members asking me, “When will you ever stop doing that to your body?”
Don’t give in; stay strong, mentally and physically, because when you feel good, that’s when the magic moments happen.
Knee injuries suck, there is no doubt about that. And I am sure that 80% of the audience reading this right now have had one of some sort. But since I tore ligaments in both knees within five months of each other, I currently consider myself a self-proclaimed professional at knee rehab. And in this brief history of injury professionalism, I have had the epiphany that knee injury prevention truly is the better route. Shocking stuff, I know.
Here is my roadmap to knee injury prevention; the secret is out!
Don’t Blow It – Knee Injury Prevention Tips
Tip #1 – Never Stop
No matter the season, and with handlebars or without (preferably with), always—ALWAYS—be getting after it.
Tip #2 – Flexibility is cool no matter what anybody tells you
Stretch it for at least 10 minutes a day. But if you are serious at all, head to yoga. I’m not even kidding, start with a beginner class and work your way up—chose strength classes, vinyasa flow is the way to go!
Tip #3 – Keep the shitty shit out of your body
Words of wisdom right there. Read the labels, take time to cook at home and try not to drink like a Newfie.
Screech bad. Tomatoes good.
Tip #4 – You need to workout
Or strength condition of some sort. See a trainer and get a routine for the whole body but try and focus a little more on legs and core for sure. Those things tend to hurt the most.
Tip #5 – Recognize the time when you need to rest and reset
Don’t get lazy, just dial it back, let your physical and mental structures re-align. This one kind of contradicts rule #1 and should only be used intermittently.
Yes, you are probably recognizing that this is a bunch of stuff that you already knew or have heard before. But I am not wasting your time, it only takes five minutes to read and sometimes humans ‘kneed’ these little reminders. Haha, see what I did right there?!
So go take care of yourself and see you out there this season, 100%!
– Nadine