By Savannah Meaike, DPT
Cross country skiing is a fantastic form of exercise in the winter months. It provides low impact exercise that uses most of our major muscle groups, and is a great way to improve your cardiovascular fitness. However, the repetitive nature of cross country skiing can lead to overuse injuries if you are not properly training and gradually increasing your time in your skis. Whether you enjoy Nordic skiing off piste or cross country skiing on groomed trails, we can help you understand how to enjoy your season more this winter by learning how to better prepare and prevent pain.
The most common injury among cross country skiers is Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome (MTSS). This is a very common form of a bone stress injury, that is often labeled as the more generic term: Shin Splints.
If the inside edge of your shin bone (tibia) is unusually tender in a two inch or more stretch of bone, you may have MTSS.
“Shin Splints and Stress Fractures”
A physical therapist familiar with ankle and foot injuries will also ask you about how your symptoms started, take measurements, and perform other special tests to help determine if MTSS is the source of your pain. A thorough assessment can also help rule out other possible diagnoses.
If you suffered from MTSS in the past and are wondering if there is anything you can do to prevent your pain this season, the answer is yes! Most of the time MTSS is caused by, “too much, too soon.” The key to reducing the risk of MTSS symptoms is to improve your bone and muscles’ tolerance or “load capacity”. Would you do 3 hours on the elliptical if you hadn’t used it in a year? This is comparable to cross country skiing for 3 hours on a Saturday if you aren’t appropriately trained.
Most types of exercise can stimulate bone building. This improves the density of our bones, which is important for our overall health. However if you apply more load to your bones than they are equipped to handle this is how a bone stress injury may occur.
The elliptical, running, and biking are all great ways to prepare for cross country skiing, as well as the exercises below that load the muscles and bones gradually so that you are more prepared for a few hours on your skies.
If you are reading this blog post too late and are one of many cross country skiers who already have symptoms of MTSS, your physical therapist at Active PT can help to improve your symptoms through hands-on treatment and therapies like taping, myofascial release, cupping, dry needling.
Other common forms of injuries in cross country skiers are Achilles tendonitis, low back pain, and knee pain. If you would like more information or advice, our therapists will meet with you at no charge. Schedule a free 15 minute screening appointment to meet with one of our Doctors of Physical Therapy and get your questions answered today.
