Knee Injury (common knee injury )

In Scotland , knee injuries occur at an approximate rate of 0.82 injuries per 1000 skier days - i.e, for every 1000 skiers on the mountain on any one day, an average of just under one skier will injury their knee.

• Tendon Injuries

• Cartilage Injuries

• Ligament Injuries - In 2003 more than 9.5 million people visited orthopaedic surgeons because of knee problems.

• Runner’s Knee

Prevention of Knee Injuries

The greatest factor which can protect your knees is sound training. Hard days must be followed by easy days and hard weeks by easy weeks. If you compete, train to peak not more than twice a year, and don’t try to prolong your peak for much more than a couple of weeks. It’s okay to compete regularly, as long as you build it into your training program and don’t go all out every week. Avoid increasing the length or intensity of any kind of workout by more than 10% in a week. Rest and recovery are the keys to your training; that’s when your body grows stronger.

The following are all potentially indicative of a serious knee injury - get to a doctor a.s.a.p.!

• Obvious deformity to the knee

• Inability to weight bear on the affected leg

• Large degree of swelling within a couple of hours of injury

• Inability to fully straighten the knee ('locked knee')

• Severe tenderness when you press on a localised area