I tried to post this on the over 50 forum, but the program wouldn't accept my post. Since this might be helpful to all skiers I posted here.
Greetings all,
I?m not sure it is a blessing to so easily qualify for this forum. But is a great opportunity to discuss issues of physical fitness and movement, related to us senior citizens. I will be 55 yrs old this summer.
I read some of the other posts relating to physical problems. I hope I can help based on some of my own experiences related to conditioning of knees and body.
I had an unfortunate soccer accident in 1976, when I was 26. This accident lead to total removal of meniscus in my right knee a year later, that?s how they did it before arthroscopy. I have an advanced arthritis condition and no ACL in that knee. I have used and abused it for the last 28 years in spite of doctors telling me I wouldn?t be able to ski or run on it.
I gave up playing soccer in 1992. I stopped playing tennis aggressively the same year. I used to teach tennis and play aggressively until that year.
I was selected for the National Demonstration Team in 1992 and skied very aggressively and did some racing during those years. I still ski 200 days a season, but I do no race training. I do jump in some race courses and test skis for Head during the season. I also coach at our All Mountain camps, which requires aggressive skiing on steeps and mixed snow. Most doctors consider this behavior stupid. I look at it as the saving grace. If I were to stop being active my knee would be toast. If you behave like an old man or women you will be there before your time.
I have learned to manage my knee and shoulder, which I had reconstructed after a mountain bike accident in Aspen 12 years ago. I also have no calf muscle on my left leg, as I tore my Achilles tendon in 1984 in a tennis match. It never healed correctly. So after all these serious injuries, I still hold my own.
The question is how do you do it and what can others do to continue skiing and doing other activities at high levels?
Here are some recommendations:
? Keep your weight down
? Take Glucosamine for joint care
? Use the right activities and training to maintain muscle mass.
? Use anti inflammatory medicine when necessary
? For more advanced conditions well timed cortisone treatment
? Proper alignment, skis, footbeds and boots help to deduce the stress on joints
? Specifically, boots should be more upright to avoid the overly flexed position which causes grinding of the knee surface and patella
? Ski on soft snow if possible
? Ski on moderate terrain, groomed
? Ski early morning and stop when you get tired. Fatigue beats up the joints as muscle protection decreases.
? All the other recommended procedures like ice, elevation and rest if needed, for over use and swelling.
I hope some of these recommendations are helpful. I will be popping in and out of this forum at different times, as time allows in my schedule. This is a busy time for Harb Ski Systems, often we are putting in fourteen hours a day to keep up with demand. We are often at our alignment center into the evening, so I am hard to reach and don?t get a chance to visit the site.
Until next time,
Harald