Enjoy the slopes for many years to come with the right knee bracing solution
Skiing is a tremendous winter sport and a feast for the senses, offering the perfect blend of physical activity and spectacular scenery. However, as with all extreme sports, there are precautions worth considering if you wish to continue enjoying the slopes for many years to come – and this is where the benefits of knee braces for skiing come in.
Benefits of knee braces for skiing
Knee braces for skiing are fast becoming known as an essential piece of kit, not only for supporting existing injuries also as a precautionary measure to keep your knees healthy for longer.
Every jump and twist on the snow puts pressure on the knee joints, and this can eventually lead to long-term injury or discomfort. Knee braces for skiing can relieve you of worry and pain by providing extra control and support for the four key ligaments: the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) and the medial collateral ligament (MCL).
Is it really worth investing in knee braces for skiing? Surely they aren’t necessary for everyone?
Control and support
The truth is that a pair of knee braces will keep you on the slopes for longer, provide a smoother skiing experience and significantly reduce the risk of injury. The reason behind this is simple. Skiing involves abnormal knee joint and ligament movements. A skier’s feet are locked inside their boots, leaving the knees to do all the work – something that they aren’t used to in everyday life.
The added strain on the knees makes injury far more likely, but this likelihood can be reduced dramatically with a little extra control and support. This is one of the main benefits of knee braces for skiing: they can help you to enjoy a worry- and carefree trip. As they say, prevention is better than the cure.
Protection
As well as offering added stability for a smoother skiing experience, knee braces can also help those who have been injured previously. Whether you have undergone major ACL surgery or are nursing a sprain, knee bracing can provide the relief and support necessary to protect the injury whilst enabling you to continue skiing.
While it is not advisable to hit the slopes on a weakened or damaged knee joint, a supportive brace is an addition that both orthopaedic consultants and physiotherapists regularly recommend.
Potential risks associated with skiing
A recent survey listed a score of different ways in which minor and major knee injuries are sustained. These included everything from the frequent tumbles experienced by beginners to the hard-hitting landings of an Olympic professional.
A recurring theme throughout all these cases was that the cause of injury was far too unpredictable to quantify. All sorts of factors might have been at play, including poor technique, repeated movement, uneven terrain, simple exhaustion and lack of care at the start and end of the day. The chance of avoiding all these problems every time is too low to rely on.
So, the benefits of wearing a knee brace on the slopes far outweigh the costs. It’s a bit like wearing a seat belt when driving or a crash helmet on a motorbike: the day when it is really needed may never come, but if it ever does you’ll be glad that you took the precaution.
Whether you’re planning a trip to Aspen or the Alps, we can help you find the right knee braces, reducing the risk of injury and providing you with a smoother, more pleasurable skiing experience.
Browse our website for more information on knee braces for skiing and the service that we provide.