Winter sport injury prevention: Must-dos before you hit the ice

Winter sports are a blast, but nothing ruins a good time faster than a torn ACL or a nasty wipeout.

Before you venture onto the slopes or the ice rink this season, it’s important to know how to prevent serious injuries and ensure your body is in the best possible condition.

In this article, we will explore common winter sport injuries, exercises you can do to help prevent these, and, in the case of an injury, how they can be treated.

Common winter sport injuries

Winter sports have grown in popularity over the past few years, with 1.8 million people being active skiers and snowboarders currently in the UK. This has grown as the Winter Olympics Games are in full swing, with nearly 7 in 10 (69%) Brits being inspired by the Games to participate in winter sports.

While enthusiasm for winter sports and exercise is positive and should be encouraged, many people jump in without understanding how to prepare for these high-impact activities and their elevated injury risks beforehand.

This lack of preparation can lead to sport related injuries that can affect your general health and even land you in the emergency room. Some common injuries caused by winter sports such as skiing, snowboarding or ice hockey include:

• Concussion, whiplash and other head injuries
• Strains, sprains and ligament injuries – e.g. ‘skier’s thumb’, ACL tear, torn rotator cuff
• Pulled muscles 
• Bone fractures, dislocations and breakages – e.g. ‘snowboarder’s ankle’, wrist sprains, finger fractures
• Spinal injuries – e.g. a fractured tail bone

Many of these injuries happen when people overexert themselves, pushing themselves to do more than they should. Most winter sports injuries can be prevented if you prepare for your chosen sport by keeping in good physical condition, staying alert, and stopping when you are tired or in pain.

Exercises and preparation to do beforehand 

Making sure you are in the best condition possible before taking part in any winter sport is key to preventing most injuries that happen on the ice.

Some ways you can help prepare yourself include:

Training and looking after your body 

Warming up

Before staring any physical exercise, it’s important to warm your body up with light activities and stretches to help reduce the risk of injury while you work out. This is because it helps to raise body temperature and increase joint mobility.

Focus on dynamic stretches, such as high knees, arm circles, leg swings and lunges, and light cardiovascular activity, such as jumping jacks, high knees and butt kicks to activate your muscles without overstretching. You should do this for about 10 to 20 minutes before starting your chosen sport.

Cooling down

As with warming up, it is just as important to cool down after taking part in any physical activity. Cooling down helps your body recover, reduces muscle soreness, and prevents injuries.

Cool down stretches help to gradually lower your heart rate and blood pressure, which can prevent dizziness and blood pooling in the muscles. It also aids recovery as warmer muscles allow for deeper, more effective stretches. This means it can reduce muscle stiffness, promote better flexibility, and remove waste products like lactic acid, which helps minimize post-workout soreness and injury risk.

Training

If you are training yourself beforehand for sports such as skiing, ice hockey or snowboarding, it’s important to balance the amount that you train with rest so not to overexert yourself. You could injure yourself before you’ve even got to the ice!

Exercising every day doesn’t allow for your body to rest and repair properly. Typically, you should aim for 2-4 days of training per week to have the right balance of activity and rest.

Diet and hydration

Making sure you have a healthy, nutritious diet and that you are well hydrated are essential for helping reduce your injury risk.
By getting the right vitamins and minerals and being properly hydrated, you will be better at maintaining tissue strength, reducing fatigue, and facilitating muscle repair.

Wearing appropriate equipment

Ensuring your equipment properly fits and is in good condition is vital to preventing any unnecessary injury. Always make sure you have appropriately sized boots, bindings, skis or snowboards, and protective gear. 

Making sure you wear your helmet properly is also essential, not just for preventing injury – it could save your life. This has been a major topic of concern, with previous surveys showing that less than 50% of skiers and snowboarders routinely wore helmets.

Following instructions and practicing winter sport safety

If you are a beginner or want further advice on the sport you want to participate in, following professional instructors’ advice is key to preventing any avoidable injuries.

Instructors can provide key insights into proper equipment fitting, warm-up and cool-down routines, safe sport practices, and, if appropriate, recommend the right terrain and routes to take.

If you need help with optimising your exercises or diet alongside doing winter sports, our team of expert physiotherapists and dietitians can help you be your best self and prevent injury.

Treatment for winter sport injuries

Some winter sport injuries are not avoidable, as they’re caused by uncontrollable factors such as falls, collisions or equipment failure.

Regardless of how you are injured on the ice or snow, it’s essential you get the right treatment for your condition straight away. If left untreated, even minor injuries can develop into something worse, and significant injuries can lead to further complications that can cause serious and or permanent issues going forward.

Sports injuries can be treated in a variety of ways and the right treatment for you will depend on the location and severity of your injury. 

Typically, minor sports injuries such as mild sprains, strains, bruises, and small cuts, can be treated at home with over-the-counter pain medication (e.g. paracetamol or ibuprofen) and the RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) protocol. However, in some cases you may need further treatment.

This might include:

Physiotherapy

Working with a physiotherapist can ease pain and improve movement if you have an injury. A physiotherapist will instruct you and guide your movements through exercise, massage, and other techniques.

This will also improve your muscle strength and stamina, particularly if you have to have surgery.

Injections

If you are struggling with severe pain or physiotherapy isn’t fully relieving symptoms, you can have an injection of corticosteroid into the affected joint to help ease your pain in the short term.

Your consultant may recommend getting corticosteroid injections in combination with physiotherapy to make exercising easier.

Surgery

If your injury is severe, or nonsurgical treatments haven't worked for you, surgery may be necessary to help repair your damage to ligaments, tendons, or cartilage.

Surgery may also be needed to treat fractures or severe breaks that cannot be managed safely in a brace or cast.

If you notice that you have:

• Obvious deformity – for example, your bone is at an odd angle, or you can see bone through the skin
• Inability to weight bear for more than a few steps, or a knee/ankle that keeps giving way
• A locked joint that will not fully straighten or bend
• Numbness, tingling, or signs of loss of blood supply (very pale, cold to touch)

We advise that you seek immediate medical attention for your injury so you can receive treatment straight away.

Choosing Circle Health Group for winter sports injury treatment

If you'd like to speak with one of our orthopaedic consultants about getting help for your injury, you can book an appointment with one online today. You can also speak with a physiotherapist if you need help with movement and pain management.