As the leaves change and winter
looms, I am preparing both mentally and physically for the coming ski season.
Skiing is a huge portion of this state’s draw and one of the reasons I ended up
here. It has been found that skiing is associated with healthier aging and a
slew of other positive outcomes from a stronger skeleton to better balance
(Burtscher et al, 2018). While it is a very fun sport, it is also associated
with some serious risks we all should be aware of – knee injuries being the
most common, more specifically ACL issues (Tarka et al, 2019). The anterior
cruciate ligament more commonly referred to as the ACL is responsible for the
stabilization of the knee joint. This ligament is the most injured of the four
in the knee. Reduction in ACL strain is clearly an important consideration for
any skier whether that is facilitated though training or general fitness. A
particularly risky aspect of alpine skiing is jumping and landing. Landing
wrong out of a jump can cause loss of control and serious injury. Research has
shown that through proper instruction, skiers can land safer and reduce the
risk of ACL injuries. One method of reducing the load on the ACL while skiing is
through intentional activation of the hamstrings and quadriceps (Färber et al, 2019). In this
study, freestyle skiers would hit twelve jumps after receiving different levels
of instruction and their muscle activation was measured using EMG signals. The
researchers then analyzed this data to determine if the hamstrings and quads
could be activated intentionally. Four of the jumps were performed with no
instructions, four received minimal instruction, the final four jumps were
performed with specific instruction to activate the hamstrings upon landing.
The data showed greater activation of the hamstrings on the jumps that the
skier received instruction. This may seem obvious, but its important to know
that trying to activate a muscle more actually makes a significant difference.
Training and skiing smarter and more thoughtfully will lead to greater
competence and reduce the probability of injuries. This research technique can
also inform future studies on specific technique changes to make skiing as safe
as possible.
Tarka, M. C., Davey,
A., Lonza, G. C., O’Brien, C. M., Delaney, J. P., & Endres, N. K. (2019).
Alpine Ski Racing Injuries. Sports Health, 11(3), 265–271. https://doi.org/10.1177/1941738119825842
Färber, S., Heinrich,
D., Werner, I., & Federolf, P. (2019). Is it possible to voluntarily
increase hamstring muscle activation during landing from a snow jump in alpine
skiing? - A pilot study. Journal of Sports Sciences, 37(2),
180–187. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2018.1488423
Burtscher, M.,
Federolf, P. A., Nachbauer, W., & Kopp, M. (2018). Potential Health
Benefits From Downhill Skiing. Frontiers in Physiology, 9, 1924. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2018.01924
Your post reminded me of a phenomenon called muscle memory. I found a paper that addressed muscle memory and looked at some of the mechanisms behind it (Bruusgaard et al. 2010). It used to be thought that muscle memory was a result of motor learning in the CNS, but recently they have found that it is actually due to an increase in the number of myonuclei caused by exercising. The myonuclei are resistant to cell death so even when the muscles are atrophied, they remain and when exercise starts again, they more easily increase strength and fiber area, but this memory effect only lasts for three months. It would be interesting to see if there is a correlation between, the number of myonuclei and how prone someone is to injury or how often they get injured.
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