Snowshoeing: How to be well prepared and ways to avoid injuries - Kinatex l'Ormière

Snowshoeing: How to be well prepared and ways to avoid injuries

2021/12/21 Home Education and advice

Snowshoeing: How to be well prepared and ways to avoid injuries
Annabelle Tardif Annabelle Tardif

Warm-up

Warming up is carried out at the very start of the activity. Low-intensity exercises are performed for a short period of time, about ten minutes. The aim is to prepare your body for the ensuing physical activity. This involves gradually increasing the muscle and joint temperature, blood pressure and heart rate. As a result, your body is less prone to injury and the risk of injuries such as a heart attack or stroke is significantly reduced.

For an appropriate warm-up to snowshoeing:

  • Begin the activity at a slow pace
  • Add hip mobility exercises
  • If you use poles, shoulder mobility exercises are also indicated
  • You should achieve a slight shortness of breath but still be able to hold a conversation
  • You should experience a general feeling of warmth

Static stretching should not be performed as a warm-up as it can increase the risk of injury. If you wish to do these, it is recommended that you reserve them for the very end of your activity.

Progression

During physical efforts, various forces are applied to the:

  • Muscles
  • Tendons
  • Bones

When you increase the intensity of your training too quickly, your body has trouble adapting and the risk of injury increases. Basically, the training load is modulated by:

  • Volume (total training time)
  • Intensity (speed, ground variations)
  • The environment (marked trails, loose snow, field, forest, etc.).

To ensure proper progression, change only one element at a time. For example, you can take the same route by increasing the speed, or keep the same speed but go over a different terrain.

Raquette rouge sur la neige

Proper Posture

Your posture can greatly affect the efficiency of your movements and the level of your fatigue level during your activity. To prevent back injuries, maintain an upright, elongated posture with your abdominal muscles slightly contracted to remain stable.

On slopes, you may have a tendency to lean forward. If you do so, remain upright, and put more load on the front of your foot. At all times, avoid excessively long strides. These can contribute to lower extremity injuries and increase your fatigue level.

If you use poles, they should be adjusted to a 90° angle at the elbow joint when placed in the ground in front of you. They promote greater upper limb effort and enable you to climb slopes more easily.

What are the most common injuries while snowshoeing?

Even though snowshoeing is a low-impact sport and injuries are relatively infrequent, it is possible to experience various discomforts if the technique you use is incorrect or if you progress too quickly.

Patellofemoral syndrome

The patellofemoral syndrome is defined as severe pain around the patella caused by irritation of the joint between the patella and the femur. This can occur if you progress too quickly in your training or if your movement pattern is incorrect. The pain is then felt during and after training, as well as when going down stairs and if you remain seated for long periods of time.

Achilles Tendinopathy

Achilles tendinopathy is a condition in which wear and tear on the Achilles tendon creates pain and sometimes swelling at the back of the ankle. This wear and tear consist of the degeneration of the microscopic fibers of the tendon which occurs when the tendon is subjected to mechanical stress beyond its capacity.

Hip Flexor and Adductor Strain

The hip muscles are put under great stress when snowshoeing, and even more so if there is a good layer of snow or if you go off the trail. There is a possibility for strains to occur. A strain is a sudden partial tear of the muscles, which causes severe pain. When the muscles are not properly warmed up, there is an increased risk of strains.

3 personnes en raquette sur un sentier enneigé

What should you do in case of injury?

If you feel pain during your excursion, and you have not experienced a trauma, it is highly likely that you increased your activities too quickly or that your biomechanical movements are incorrect. It is advisable to slightly reduce your level of activity and then increase them again more gradually. If this does not make your pain go away, consult a physiotherapist to obtain an assessment of your joint biomechanics and to correct the deficiencies if necessary.

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