Six tips for ski injury prevention

The most common skiing injuries

The most common knee injury on the slopes is the Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) tear, which often occurs when skiers fall or overstrain in the 'snowplough' position (when the ski tips are pointed towards one another). This is seen more in beginners and intermediate skiers.

The second most common is an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear. This type of ski knee injury is usually caused by skiers trying to prevent a fall or landing a jump poorly.

I see many patients with a range of knee traumas following an accident on the slopes. Having a good ski technique, the right level of ski fitness and doing ski exercises can help avoid injury.

So, for those planning a trip to the slopes, here are my top skiing tips for ski injury prevention:

Perform ski exercises to train and strengthen before your trip

Skiing is physically demanding and challenges the muscles and joints in a way we do not routinely use them. It's very important that during the months leading up to a ski holiday, you prepare your body and train your legs to prevent risk of injury. 

Treat it like training for a long run or a triathlon. Many gyms and physios offer ski exercise classes to help improve your ski fitness. To help you get in shape before your holiday, try squats, wall-sitting and side planks mixed in with your usual cardio routines. 

Ensure you have the correct skiing posture and technique

If you are a beginner or intermediate skier, it's important you take time to learn the proper skiing technique. This includes hands and weight forward, legs parallel and hips, knees and ankles flexing equally. The best way to learn good ski posture is to take lessons.

If you're an experienced skier, you should consider some ski technique coaching lessons to help hone your skills and ski technique. Understanding the best technique will help protect you from ski knee injury. Remember Rory McIlroy, Lewis Hamilton and most FTSE 100 CEOs all have coaches, so why not you?

Learn how to fall correctly when skiing

Many skiing injuries occur after a fall because the body stiffens, tries to correct itself and regain composure. If you do catch an edge or feel yourself falling, tuck your chin in and try to loosen your body and draw in your limbs to help prevent ski injuries.

Listen to your body and ski within your limits

If your body is exhausted and you are feeling a little 'off,' it's important to listen to these signals and rest. Being fatigued or stiff increases your chances of skiing injuries. some of the best skiing tips are to always warm up before ski sessions and warm down afterwards and to take enough rest and relaxation between visits to the slopes.

Also, make sure to ski within your limits and don't push yourself to the point where you feel out of control. Staying on marked trails also means you don't have to consider concealed obstacles, such as tree stumps or rocks, which can cause skiing injuries. 

Alcohol and skiing should not mix

Going on a skiing holiday should be about relaxing, having fun and spending time with friends and family. This may involve an alcoholic drink or two. I recommend that alcoholic drinks should be reserved for après ski! Unsurprisingly, there is a body of scientific evidence that shows a link between drinking and injuries due to impaired reaction times and judgement.

Use the correct binding settings (DIN)

Bindings must be professionally fitted and not too tight. If the ski fails to detach during a fall, it can twist the leg and knee, increasing the risk of ski knee injury, ligament damage around joints or fractures.

DIN settings are a standardised way of matching a ski binding's release force to the skier. The recommended value is calculated from weight, height, boot sole length, age and skier type, with adjustments made in accordance with international standards.

A correctly adjusted DIN helps prevent both unwanted ski release and serious lower-limb skiing injuries by ensuring the binding releases only when appropriate forces are encountered. Proper setup involves more than the DIN number alone, as forward pressure and other binding adjustments must also be correctly configured.

Although many experienced skiers know how to adjust the release value, the correct DIN should ideally be set and verified by a qualified ski technician. 

What are DIN settings?

DIN settings are one of the most important safety adjustments on a pair of alpine skis. They can help with ski injury prevention by determining how much force is required for the ski binding to release your boot during a fall. The goal is to strike a balance between:

• Preventing unwanted releases while skiing ("pre-release")
• Allowing the ski to release when the forces become high enough to reduce the risk of injury

What does "DIN" mean?

DIN comes from the German standards organisation Deutsches Institut für Normung, which developed the original standard for binding release values. Modern bindings follow the international standard (ISO 11088), but skiers still refer to the release value as the DIN setting.

How is DIN calculated?

Binding technicians use an internationally standardised chart rather than simply selecting a number. The calculation considers multiple variables such as skier weight, height, boot sole length, age and skier type. 

The DIN number is simply a numerical indication of the release force, not a measure of skiing ability alone. Typical DIN ranges are:

• 0.75 – 2: Small children
• 2 – 4: Lightweight adults and cautious skiers
• 4 – 7: Average recreational adults
• 7 – 10: Advanced skiers
• 10 – 16: Experts, racers and heavy/aggressive skiers
• 16 – 24: Elite racers (specialist bindings only)

Having your bindings correctly adjusted is an important part of ski injury prevention, as bindings that don't release when they should can increase the forces placed on your knee during a fall, potentially contributing to an ACL injury.

Please be aware this article provides general guidance only. You should always seek medical advice if you have a ski knee injury.