As the snow falls and the temperatures fall, the onset of winter marks the start of the favorite time of year for devotees of winter-sports.
No matter how skilled you are in sports such as skiing, snow mobile riding, ice-skating and hiking, you may be at risk for serious injuries while performing these activities. There are some tips you can use to help stay fit and free of injuries when you are enjoying some winter fun.
During the colder months, people naturally spend long hours indoors, meaning that the levels of vitamins our body makes through sun-exposure can be lower in the body. Some medical professionals think that this can lead to SAD (or Seasonal Affective Disorder) in some people - so taking part in outdoor physical activities like winter sports may be an effective means of preventing feelings of depression.
First Know the Risks:
Awareness of the risks of winter sports is crucial. For example, did you know that at least 1 in 10 of the atheletes in the 2010 Winter Olympics was injured? These are the best trained winter-sports atheletes in the world, so its good to keep some perspective about your own abilities...
The British Journal of Sports Medicine recently released a report listing the winter sports which cause the most injuries, which include Bobsled, Ice Hockey, Snowboard Cross, Alpine Freestyle and Short Track.
There are some simple steps you can take to reduce your risk of injury. You can try the following tips.
Some Tips to Help Prevent Injuries:
1) If you haven't been on skis or a board for months, you should not start by taking on black diamonds immediately, because your muscles could well get injured after a long break.
2) Extending your warm up - at the very least, a five to ten minute warm up should be done - but that may not be enough during the winter so do as much as you can.
3) Snowboarding without a helmet or sledding without water-resistant footwear may leave you open to injury. Do make sure that all your equipment (or hired equipment) is in excellent working order.
4) Drink plenty of fluids (and I don't mean alcohol!) - you need to stay adequately hydrated. No matter what your sport, you need to drink water or sports beverages every hour. You should drink even if you aren't thirsty.
5) Know the ground - When you are hiking or snow shoeing, be sure to stay on marked trails. To prevent surprises, you should know the terrain ahead of time and you should also ask about any unexpected obstructions like ice or snow drifts.
6) Dress for both cold and for the sun - When you do winter activities, your body temperature may undergo large changes. So do wear layers of light, moisture-resistant, breathable clothing so you can adjust to any condition.
Make sure you take adequate travel insurance - these are extreme conditions, and the injuries you could sustain could require urgent, expensive medical treatment. Make sure your policy covers winter sports - so look for ski travel insurance.
While the tips given above are by no means exhaustive, and you should check the conditions at your winter sport destination (speaking with resort experts is a good thing too) I hope this will help you to stay safe.
No matter how skilled you are in sports such as skiing, snow mobile riding, ice-skating and hiking, you may be at risk for serious injuries while performing these activities. There are some tips you can use to help stay fit and free of injuries when you are enjoying some winter fun.
During the colder months, people naturally spend long hours indoors, meaning that the levels of vitamins our body makes through sun-exposure can be lower in the body. Some medical professionals think that this can lead to SAD (or Seasonal Affective Disorder) in some people - so taking part in outdoor physical activities like winter sports may be an effective means of preventing feelings of depression.
First Know the Risks:
Awareness of the risks of winter sports is crucial. For example, did you know that at least 1 in 10 of the atheletes in the 2010 Winter Olympics was injured? These are the best trained winter-sports atheletes in the world, so its good to keep some perspective about your own abilities...
The British Journal of Sports Medicine recently released a report listing the winter sports which cause the most injuries, which include Bobsled, Ice Hockey, Snowboard Cross, Alpine Freestyle and Short Track.
There are some simple steps you can take to reduce your risk of injury. You can try the following tips.
Some Tips to Help Prevent Injuries:
1) If you haven't been on skis or a board for months, you should not start by taking on black diamonds immediately, because your muscles could well get injured after a long break.
2) Extending your warm up - at the very least, a five to ten minute warm up should be done - but that may not be enough during the winter so do as much as you can.
3) Snowboarding without a helmet or sledding without water-resistant footwear may leave you open to injury. Do make sure that all your equipment (or hired equipment) is in excellent working order.
4) Drink plenty of fluids (and I don't mean alcohol!) - you need to stay adequately hydrated. No matter what your sport, you need to drink water or sports beverages every hour. You should drink even if you aren't thirsty.
5) Know the ground - When you are hiking or snow shoeing, be sure to stay on marked trails. To prevent surprises, you should know the terrain ahead of time and you should also ask about any unexpected obstructions like ice or snow drifts.
6) Dress for both cold and for the sun - When you do winter activities, your body temperature may undergo large changes. So do wear layers of light, moisture-resistant, breathable clothing so you can adjust to any condition.
Make sure you take adequate travel insurance - these are extreme conditions, and the injuries you could sustain could require urgent, expensive medical treatment. Make sure your policy covers winter sports - so look for ski travel insurance.
While the tips given above are by no means exhaustive, and you should check the conditions at your winter sport destination (speaking with resort experts is a good thing too) I hope this will help you to stay safe.
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