Skier Fears Knee Damage from Snowboarding

[szpeedy]

I am 48 years old and I have apline and telemark skied for many years until 1997 when my son was born. Since my wife is not much of a skier, we ended up going to tropical places during winter or spring break because it is less work to hang out by the beach or the pool with the kids. Now that my kids are 9 and 6 yr old, I thought I would introduce them to skiing as they are getting into different sports. We live in NY and are planning a trip to Utah during Spring break. Since my 9 yr old son wants to learn snowboarding and I am going to put him in a 3 or 5 days lesson. He has been asking me questions about it and that got me thinking about trying snowboarding. I thought it was a good idea because telemark skiing put a lot of stress on my knees, and I am not sure if I could take the stress with my age and 30 lbs heavier. Snowboarding becomes very interesting to me.

After reading messages from this board, I am having second thought because I am afraid I will screw up my knees wilth all the falls during the learning curve. I think one member sprain the knees and ened his ski trip. Since most of you have just gone thru the learning process at an older age, I would appreciate if you could shed some light on the kind of stress that this sport would put on your knees. Since both your feet is locked on the board, would there be a lot of twisting on your knees when you try to compensate your body to move the board or from falling?

BTW, I stumbled to this site while searching for snowboarding info, but most are geared towards younger audiences. This site is great.

[John]

Thanks for introducing yourself; I'm really glad that you came across the site. As you say, most snowboarding sites (and "dead tree" publications) are geared for a much younger crowd. The lack of a site / forum for adults was one reason why I started Graysontrays.com.

Now I can't speak for the other members of the forum, but I'll tell you my observations.

Like you, I was a skier who took an interest in snowboarding. It took a while for me to catch on, but catch on I did. I'm glad that I tried it out, and stuck with it in the rough early-on.

It's funny that you mention stress on the knees, as many crossover snowboarders cite knee problems as one reason why they left skiing and took up riding.

Will you have some falls during your first lessons? (And you will take lessons, won't you?) Almost certainly.

Will those falls hurt your knees? I'm no doctor, and consider the price that you're paying for this free advice, but ...

Buy some knee pads for $10. There will be some times when it's just easier to stop and take a rest on your knees. Having pads makes that experience a lot more pleasant.

Do you spend a lot of time twisting your knees on the board? No. Not if you're learning good technique. Snowboarding is not like doing the twist, with rapid movements.

Steering the board comes from the feet up, shifting pressure between the heel and toe, especially in your front foot. You will point your knee in a particular direction if you wish to make a turn, but it's nothing herky-jerky or dramatic or even essential.

Now you can screw up your knee if you get airborn (not recommended for a newbie!) and land on it, hard.

I'm not saying there's no danger; as you probably know as a skier, bad stuff can happen on the mountain. But I'd say that messing up your knees should be way down on the list of concerns.

(I've edited the title of your post to attract more attention from your target audience.)

[bobthegood]

Like John, I also can't speak for others. I'll tell you that my learning curve included much more time on my behind than on my knees.

I used to occasionally wear those neoprene knee braces when skiing, but have found that I haven't needed them riding. It could just be coincidence, but I don't think so.

What I do wear every time out is my helmet. This year I also bought some padded shorts, and they're great. If I was skiiing, they'd still be great.

Good luck in your decision. I haven't regretted for a minute learning with my kids.

[John]

See http://www.ski-injury.com/snowboard.htm#Introduction

The site is run by a doctor (and skier) in Scotland.

Excerpt:

Knee injuries are less common and less serious in snowboarders than skiers for several reasons:-

a) Whilst on the board with both feet attached in the bindings, any twisting force occurring will twist the whole body as one - both legs and trunk must therefore move in the same direction. The same is not true of skiers, in whom one leg can turn in or outwards independent of what the rest of the body is up to!

See also Kathleen A. Dunn, of the Department of Emergency Medicine, Upstate Medical University, Syracuse NY

What are the health hazards of snowboarding?

To quote an excerpt:

Knee injuries are less common and less severe among snowboarders than among alpine skiers, in part because the feet stay attached to the board during falls, placing less torque on the knees.

[Kecht06]

Snowboarding doesn't lend itself to the same conditions as skiing does when it comes to knees, legs and ankles. I can tell you without question, because Today I did them both, and I can feel them both. Your worried about the pressure applied like in skiing where the front part of your thigh and knees get worked, and with a board those do not get the same motion or stress.

What you really want to know is that your tailbone is at risk, your wrists are at risk, and the back of your head are at risk. They sell equipment to protect all 3 of those, and i suggest all of them especially with new boarders.

My daughter at 19 is required to wear them when I take her, and I myself won't strap on a board without a helmet.

It's all good, enjoy, and jump into one of those lessons before you start. you'll be happy because of it. Have a blast

[Katdog]

Knees are not really a big problem. I can vouch for the head and tailbone hurting though! As a beginner I spent a lot of time on my butt. I also gave myself a concussion and immediately bought a helmet afterwards! (which came in handy twice afterwards) My friend who is 65 and started riding just 3 years ago pads herself up pretty well....helmet, wrist guards, knee pads, hip/butt pad. I just wear a helmet.

[canoer]

I wear a helmet, wrist guards, and knee pads. I no longer stick my half inch of foam in my bibs for a hip/butt pad but I did for a couple of years there (I now use the foam pad to stand on in the parking lot when I change out of my bibs and boots into my car clothes, although a lawn chair would probably be even better).

The protective gear isn't fool proof but it does gives me a bit of a psychological advantage knowing that if I bang into something, I have a bit of protection. I feel I can be a bit more aggressive and that helps me initiate my carves.

My helmet is so comfortable I don't think I could go back to just a hat.

If you use knee guards that strap on, use an X crossing pattern behind your knees. The pads will feel more comfortable that way (old canoer's trick, stolen from roofers).

[Rod Smith]

Bring your skis on that Utah trip. You don't want to be stuck on the bunny hill. Telemark will make your knees stronger if you don't over do it. Learn to snowboard with your sons, but ski a few runs off-piste while you are there.

Telemark and snowboard complement each other very nicely!